WO2024104150A1

WO2024104150A1 - Positioning method and apparatus, and communication device

Info

Publication number: WO2024104150A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/128584
Authority: WO
Inventors: 王慧; 李欢
Original assignee: 维沃移动通信有限公司
Priority date: 2022-11-15
Filing date: 2023-10-31
Publication date: 2024-05-23
Also published as: CN118055360A

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of communications. Disclosed are a positioning method and apparatus, and a communication device. The positioning method in the embodiments of the present application comprises: a first communication device acquiring a first location information request message, wherein the first location information request message is used for indicating a request for location information of a first Internet-of-Things device; the first communication device determining a first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet-of-Things device; the first communication device acquiring location information of the first terminal device; and the first communication device determining the location information of the first Internet-of-Things device according to the location information of the first terminal device.

Description

Positioning method, device and communication equipment

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to a Chinese patent application filed with the Chinese Patent Office on November 15, 2022, with application number 202211427137.6 and title “Positioning method, device and communication equipment”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application.

Technical Field

The present application belongs to the field of communication technology, and specifically relates to a positioning method, device and communication equipment.

Background technique

The existing 3GPP 5G system supports positioning services, which are implemented and provided by network elements such as the Access Management Function (AMF) and the Location Management Function (LMF). The positioning process can be initiated by the Application Function (AF) via the Network Exposure Function (NEF) network element, and the terminal's location information can be obtained through network elements such as AMF and LMF.

Among them, IoT terminals generally refer to terminal devices used in certain specific scenarios or specific services. IoT devices can be designed for the specific needs of the services and applications to be performed (for example, smart homes/cities, smart utilities, e-health, and smart wearable devices). Some IoT terminals may not be used for human communication, for example, electronic meter reading equipment.

For these IoT devices, some of them have extremely low working power consumption and may not be able to support the complex calculations of positioning services. Therefore, the mobile network cannot obtain the location information of these IoT devices through the existing positioning process.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present application provide a positioning method, an apparatus and a communication device, which can solve the problem that the location information of an IoT device cannot be obtained by using the existing positioning process.

In a first aspect, a positioning method is provided, comprising:

The first communication device obtains a first location information request message, where the first location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of the first Internet of Things device;

The first communication device determines a first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device;

The first communication device obtains the location information of the first terminal device;

The first communication device determines the location information of the first Internet of Things device based on the location information of the first terminal device.

In a second aspect, a positioning method is provided, including:

The second communication device receives a second location information request message sent by the third communication device, where the second location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of the first Internet of Things device;

The second communication device determines, according to the second location information request message, a first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device and sends a first location information request message to the first communication device;

The first location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of the first IoT device, and the first location information request message includes at least part of the content of the second location information request message.

A third aspect provides a positioning method, including:

The third communication device sends a second location information request message to the second communication device, where the second location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of the first Internet of Things device.

A fourth aspect provides a positioning method, including:

The first terminal device sends third target information to the first communication device;

The third target information includes at least one of the following:

first identification information of the first IoT device;

An indirect positioning indication, where the indirect positioning indication is used to indicate that the first Internet of Things device does not support direct positioning;

Capability information, where the capability information is used to indicate that the first terminal device has the ability to communicate with an IoT device or has the ability to discover an IoT device.

In a fifth aspect, a positioning device is provided, comprising:

A first acquisition module, used to acquire a first location information request message, where the first location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of a first Internet of Things device;

A first determining module, used to determine a first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device;

A second acquisition module, used to acquire the location information of the first terminal device;

The second determination module is used to determine the location information of the first Internet of Things device according to the location information of the first terminal device.

In a sixth aspect, a positioning device is provided, comprising:

A first receiving module, configured to receive a second location information request message sent by a third communication device, wherein the second location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of a first Internet of Things device;

A third determination module, configured to determine, according to the second location information request message, a first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device and send a first location information request message to the first communication device;

In a seventh aspect, a positioning device is provided, comprising:

The first sending module is used to send a second location information request message to the second communication device, where the second location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of the first Internet of Things device.

In an eighth aspect, a positioning device is provided, comprising:

A second sending module, used to send third target information to the first communication device;

The third target information includes at least one of the following:

first identification information of the first IoT device;

Indirect positioning indication, the indirect positioning indication is used to indicate that the first Internet of Things device does not support direct positioning Bit;

Capability information, where the capability information is used to indicate that the first terminal device has the capability to communicate with the IoT device or has the capability to discover the IoT device.

In the ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores programs or instructions that can be run on the processor, and when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect are implemented.

In the tenth aspect, a positioning system is provided, comprising: a first communication device, a second communication device, a third communication device and a first terminal, wherein the first communication device can be used to execute the steps of the positioning method as described in the first aspect above, the second communication device can be used to execute the steps of the positioning method as described in the second aspect above, the third communication device can be used to execute the steps of the positioning method as described in the third aspect above, and the first terminal can be used to execute the steps of the positioning method as described in the fourth aspect above.

In the eleventh aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect are implemented.

In the twelfth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a program or instruction to implement the method described in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect.

In the thirteenth aspect, a computer program/program product is provided, wherein the computer program/program product is stored in a storage medium, and the computer program/program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the method described in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect.

In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning device, which is used to execute the steps of the positioning method described in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect.

In an embodiment of the present application, the first communication device can obtain a first location information request message, which is used to indicate a request for location information of the first IoT device, so that the first communication device can determine the first terminal device corresponding to the first IoT device, and obtain the location information of the first terminal device, and then determine the location information of the first IoT device based on the location information of the first terminal device. It can be seen that the embodiment of the present application can convert the positioning of the IoT device into the positioning of the terminal device associated with the IoT device, so that even if the IoT device has extremely low power consumption and does not support complex calculations of positioning services, the location information of the IoT device can be obtained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of the present application can be applied;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an IoT device accessing a mobile network via a reader/writer in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG3 is a flow chart of a positioning method in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG4 is a flow chart of another positioning method in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5 is a flow chart of another positioning method in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6 is a flow chart of another positioning method in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7 is a flow chart of implementation mode 1 of the positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8 is a flow chart of implementation mode 2 of the positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG9 is a flowchart of implementation mode 3 of the positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG10 is a structural block diagram of a positioning device in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG11 is a structural block diagram of another positioning device in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG12 is a structural block diagram of another positioning device in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG13 is a structural block diagram of another positioning device in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG14 is a block diagram of a communication device in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG15 is a block diagram of a terminal device in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG16 is a structural block diagram of a network-side device in an embodiment of the present application.

Specific embodiments

The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field belong to the scope of protection of this application.

The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this way are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described here, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of the same type, and the number of objects is not limited. For example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "and/or" in the specification and claims represents at least one of the connected objects, and the character "/" generally represents that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship.

It is worth noting that the technology described in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to the Long Term Evolution (LTE)/LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application are often used interchangeably, and the described technology can be used for the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies as well as other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes a new radio (NR) system for example purposes, and NR terms are used in most of the following descriptions, but these technologies can also be applied to applications other than NR system applications, such as the ^6th Generation (6G) communication system.

FIG1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to the embodiment of the present application. The wireless communication system includes a terminal device 11 and a network side device 12. The terminal device 11 may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Tablet Personal Computer), a laptop computer (Laptop Computer) or a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA), a palm computer, a netbook, an ultra-mobile personal computer (ultra-mobile personal computer), or a laptop computer. The terminal device side equipment 12 includes: a smart computer, a UMPC, a mobile Internet device (MID), an augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) device, a robot, a wearable device (Wearable Device), a vehicle-mounted device (VUE), a pedestrian terminal device (PUE), a smart home (a home appliance with a wireless communication function, such as a refrigerator, a television, a washing machine or furniture, etc.), a game console, a personal computer (PC), a teller machine or a self-service machine, etc., and the wearable device includes: a smart watch, a smart bracelet, a smart headset, a smart glasses, a smart jewelry (smart bracelet, a smart bracelet, a smart ring, a smart necklace, a smart anklet, a smart anklet, etc.), a smart wristband, a smart clothing, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of the terminal device 11 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The network side device 12 may include an access network device or a core network device, wherein the access network device 12 may also be referred to as a wireless access network device, a wireless access network (RAN), a wireless access network function or a wireless access network unit. The access network device 12 may include a base station, a WLAN access point or a WiFi node, etc. The base station may be referred to as a node B, an evolved node B (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a basic service set (Basic Service Set, BSS), an extended service set (Extended Service Set, ESS), a home B node, a home evolved B node, a transmitting and receiving point (Transmitting Receiving Point, TRP) or some other suitable term in the field. As long as the same technical effect is achieved, the base station is not limited to specific technical vocabulary. It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, only the base station in the NR system is used as an example for introduction, and the specific type of the base station is not limited.

The core network equipment may include but is not limited to at least one of the following: core network nodes, core network functions, mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME), access mobility management function (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF), session management function (Session Management Function, SMF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), policy control function (Policy Control Function, PCF), policy and charging rules function unit (Policy and Charging Rules Function, PCRF), edge application service discovery function (Edge Application Server Discovery ... user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user ion, EASDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Centralized network configuration (CNC), Network Repository Function (NRF), Network Exposure Function (NEF), Local NEF (L-NEF), Binding Support Function (BSF), Application Function (AF), etc. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, only the core network device in the NR system is taken as an example for introduction, and the specific type of the core network device is not limited.

The positioning provided by the embodiments of the present application is described in detail below through some embodiments and their application scenarios in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the first aspect, referring to FIG. 3 , which is a flowchart of a positioning method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method may include the following steps 301 to 304:

Step 301: A first communication device obtains a first location information request message.

The first location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of a first IoT device.

Here, the first communication device may be an AMF.

Step 302: The first communication device determines a first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device.

Here, the first terminal device can be a reader/writer. A user terminal (UE) or a radio access network (RAN) can be used as a reader/writer for an IoT device.

Among them, the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device is the first terminal device associated with the first Internet of Things device.

In addition, the positioning method of the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the network architecture shown in Figure 2. In this architecture, the IoT device takes the ambient IoT device as an example. The ambient IoT device needs to absorb energy from the environment. After receiving the carrier signal, the ambient IoT device communicates with the reader by reflecting the carrier signal, so that the IoT device can access the mobile network through the reader.

It can be seen that IoT devices can access mobile networks through terminal devices, that is, IoT devices and terminal devices usually have a binding relationship. Therefore, when it is necessary to request the location information of a certain IoT device, the terminal device corresponding to the IoT device can be determined, thereby converting the positioning of the IoT device into the positioning of the terminal device.

Step 303: The first communication device obtains the location information of the first terminal device.

Step 304: The first communication device determines the location information of the first Internet of Things device according to the location information of the first terminal device.

It can be seen from steps 303 to 304 that after the positioning of a certain IoT device is converted into the positioning of a terminal device associated with it, the location information of the IoT device can be determined based on the location information of the terminal device.

From the above, it can be seen that in the embodiment of the present application, the first communication device can obtain the first location information request message, and the first location information request message is used to indicate the request for the location information of the first Internet of Things device, so that the first communication device can determine the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, and obtain the location information of the first terminal device, and then determine the location information of the first Internet of Things device according to the location information of the first terminal device. It can be seen that the embodiment of the present application can convert the positioning of the Internet of Things device into the positioning of the terminal device associated with the Internet of Things device, so that even if the working power consumption of the Internet of Things device is extremely low and does not support the complex calculation of the positioning service, the location information of the Internet of Things device can be obtained.

Optionally, after the above step 304 “the first communication device determines the location information of the first Internet of Things device according to the location information of the first terminal device”, the method further includes:

The first communication device sends the location information of the first Internet of Things device.

For example, the first communication device may send the location information of the first IoT device to the device requesting the location information of the first IoT device. If the first communication device cannot directly communicate with the device requesting the location information of the first IoT device, the location information of the first IoT device may be sent to the device requesting the location information of the first IoT device through other devices.

Optionally, the first location information request message includes at least one of the following items A-1 to A-4:

Item A-1: first identification information of the first IoT device;

Item A-2: Service level information, which is used to indicate the first IoT device being requested. The level of location information;

Item A-3: area information associated with the first IoT device, where the area information is used to indicate an area range for obtaining location information of the first IoT device;

Item A-4: The second identification information of the terminal device associated with the first IoT device.

The above-mentioned item A-1 indicates that it is necessary to request the location information of the IoT device whose identification information is the above-mentioned first identification information.

In the above item A-2, the service level information may be at least one of positioning accuracy, positioning time, positioning range, and level indication, that is, the service level information may be represented by at least one of positioning accuracy, positioning time, positioning range, and level indication.

The positioning accuracy indicates the accuracy of the acquired location information, for example, the positioning accuracy is 3m.

The positioning time indicates the time of obtaining the position information. For example, if the positioning time is 10 minutes, it means that the position information needs to be obtained within 10 minutes.

The positioning range indicates that the location information is obtained within a certain range. For example, if the positioning range is area A, it indicates that the location information of the IoT device is found within the area of area A; for another example, if the positioning range is location B and 1km, it indicates that the location information of the IoT device is found within a range of 1km around location B; for another example, location B in the positioning range may be a regional range, then location B can be represented by the area where the IoT device may be located.

The level indicator can be high, medium, low, or default. The value corresponds to the service strategy provided by the mobile network. Each strategy corresponds to at least one of the positioning accuracy, positioning time, and positioning range set by the operator.

In the above-mentioned item A-3, the area information associated with the first IoT device may be location information that the first IoT device has been to (for example, within a first preset time period). It should be noted that the area information associated with the first IoT device may be location information of a mobile network (for example, a cell identifier, a tracking area identifier, etc.) or geographic location information (for example, longitude and latitude, street, administrative district, etc.).

In the above-mentioned item A-4, the second identification information of the terminal device associated with the first IoT device may be the identification of the terminal device or the identification of the holder of the terminal device (i.e., the communication number of the user to whom the terminal device belongs). For example, when the terminal device is a reader/writer, a reader/writer identification can be associated with one or more readers/writers. Optionally, the reader/writer identification may include at least one of a Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI), an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), and a Generic Public Subscription Identifier (GPSI).

Among them, the specific method of the above-mentioned step 302 "the first communication device determines the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device" can be method one, method two or method three as described below.

Mode 1: Optionally, the above step 302 "the first communication device determines the first terminal device corresponding to the first IoT device" includes:

In a case where the first location information request message includes the first identification information, the first communication device determines the terminal device corresponding to the first identification information in the association relationship as the first terminal device;

The association relationship includes an association relationship between the first identification information and the first terminal device.

Optionally, the process of acquiring the association relationship between the first identification information and the first terminal device includes:

The first communication device receives first identification information of the first Internet of Things device sent by the first terminal device;

The first communication device stores an association relationship between the first terminal device and the first identification information.

From this, it can be seen that the first terminal device can also send the first identification information of the first Internet of Things device to the first communication device, so that the first communication device can store the relationship between the first terminal device and the first identification information of the first Internet of Things device. In this way, when the first communication device receives the above-mentioned first location information request message, it can search for the identification information (i.e., the first identification information) of the Internet of Things device (i.e., the first Internet of Things device) whose location information is requested from the association relationship, so that the terminal device corresponding to the found identification information can be determined, that is, the terminal device corresponding to the Internet of Things device whose location information is requested.

In addition, the process of the first terminal device acquiring the first identification information of the first Internet of Things device includes the first terminal device sending an excitation signal to the first Internet of Things device, and the first terminal device receiving a reflected signal of the first Internet of Things device, wherein the reflected signal includes the first identification information of the first Internet of Things device.

In addition, the first terminal device may also periodically perform an inventory process to search for nearby IoT devices and send updated IoT device identifiers to the first communication device. Here, the first terminal device and the first communication device may negotiate an inventory cycle.

Optionally, the first communication device receives the first identification information of the first Internet of Things device sent by the first terminal device, including:

The first communication device receives a first non-access stratum NAS message sent by the first terminal device, wherein the first non-access stratum NAS message carries the first identification information.

That is, the first terminal device may send a first non-access layer NAS message to the first communication device, and carry the first identification information in the first non-access layer NAS message. Exemplarily, the first NAS message may be a registration request message or an uplink non-access layer transparent transmission message.

Mode 2: Optionally, the first communication device determines the first terminal device corresponding to the first IoT device, including:

When the first location information request message includes the second identification information, the first communication device determines the terminal device identified by the second identification information as the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device.

It can be seen from this that the device requesting the location information of the first Internet of Things device can inform the second identification information of the terminal device associated with the first Internet of Things device in the first location information request message. In this way, the first communication device can directly determine the first terminal device associated with the first Internet of Things device based on the second identification information.

Mode 3: Optionally, the first communication device determines the first terminal device corresponding to the first IoT device, including:

The first communication device executes the target process and determines the acquired terminal device as the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device;

Among them, the target process is the terminal device discovery process, the terminal device inventory process, and the terminal device paging process. One of them.

From this, it can be seen that the first communication device can also determine the acquired terminal device as the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device by executing one of the terminal device discovery process, the terminal device inventory process, and the terminal device paging process.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

The first communication device receives capability information sent by the terminal device and stores the capability information, wherein the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device has the capability to communicate with the IoT device or has the capability to discover the IoT device;

The first communication device executes a target process, including:

The first communication device executes the target process on a terminal device capable of communicating with an IoT device or capable of discovering an IoT device according to the capability information.

Here, the terminal device that sends the capability information may include the first terminal device mentioned above.

From this, it can be seen that the terminal device can also send capability information to the first communication device, so that the first communication device can store the capability information of each terminal device, and thus can execute the above-mentioned target process for the terminal device that has the ability to communicate with the Internet of Things device or the ability to discover the Internet of Things device based on the capability information.

For example, when the first communication device executes a discovery process for a terminal device that has the ability to communicate with an Internet of Things device or has the ability to discover an Internet of Things device based on the capability information, the first communication device can broadcast a discovery message, and the terminal device that has the ability to communicate with an Internet of Things device or has the ability to discover an Internet of Things device can send a reply message to the first communication device. In this way, the terminal device corresponding to the reply message received by the first communication device can serve as the first terminal device associated with the first Internet of Things device; or, the first communication device can broadcast a discovery message, and the terminal devices that receive the broadcast message can send a reply message to the first terminal device. In this way, the first communication device can filter out the terminal devices that have the ability to communicate with an Internet of Things device or have the ability to discover an Internet of Things device from the terminal devices that send the reply message, and the terminal devices filtered out can serve as the first terminal devices associated with the first Internet of Things device.

Optionally, the first communication device receiving capability information sent by the terminal device includes:

The first communication device receives a second NAS message sent by the terminal device, wherein the second NAS message carries the capability information.

It can be seen that the terminal device can send a second NAS message to the first communication device, and carry the above capability information in the second NAS message. Exemplarily, the second NAS message can be a registration request message or an uplink non-access layer transparent transmission message.

It is understandable that the terminal device may send the capability information and the second identification information in one NAS message or in different NAS messages, that is, the first NAS message and the second NAS message may be the same or different.

Optionally, the above step 303 “the first communication device obtains the location information of the first terminal device” includes:

The first communication device determines whether to execute the terminal device positioning process according to the first target information;

In the case of determining to execute the terminal device positioning process, determining the location information obtained by executing the terminal device positioning process on the first terminal device as the location information of the first terminal device;

In a case where it is determined not to execute the terminal device positioning process, using the current location information of the first terminal device as the location information of the first terminal device;

The first target information includes at least one of the following:

The positioning accuracy carried in the first location information request message;

The type of the first location information request message;

a source of the first location information request message;

Second identification information, where the second identification information is identification information of a terminal device associated with the first Internet of Things device and carried in the first location information request message;

The operator policy is used to indicate that the location information of the IoT device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the IoT device.

For example, when the positioning accuracy is at the cell level or the Tracking Area (TA) granularity, or when the first location information request message is a Namf_EventExposure Subscribe service operation message, or when the first location information request message comes from NEF or UDM, the first communication device does not perform the terminal device positioning process, but uses the current location information of the first terminal device as the location information of the first Internet of Things device;

or,

For example, when the first communication device stores an indirect positioning indication of the first Internet of Things device, or when the first location information request message carries the second identification information of the terminal device associated with the first Internet of Things device, or when the operator policy indicates that the location information of the Internet of Things device is represented by the location information of the reader/writer corresponding to the Internet of Things device, or when the positioning accuracy granularity is smaller than the TA granularity, or when the first location request message is a mobile and access management function location providing positioning information service operation (Namf_Location_ProvidePositioningInfo service operation) message, or when the first location information request message comes from the GMLC, the first communication device executes the terminal device positioning process, thereby determining the location information of the first terminal device obtained by executing the terminal device positioning process as the location information of the first Internet of Things device.

The indirect positioning indication may be sent by the first terminal device to the first communication device. For example, the first terminal device may send a third NAS message to the first communication device, and the third NAS message may carry the indirect positioning indication. Exemplarily, the third NAS message may be a registration request message or an uplink non-access layer transparent transmission message.

It is understandable that the third NAS message may be the same as or different from the first non-access layer NAS message and the second NAS message. That is, the capability information, the first identification information of the first IoT device, and the indirect positioning indication may be sent through the same NAS message or through different NAS messages.

In addition, it should be noted that by executing the above terminal device positioning process, more fine-grained location information can be obtained. That is, when it is determined through the above first target information that the terminal device positioning process needs to be executed, it means that To obtain more fine-grained location information of the first IoT device.

Optionally, the first communication device determines the location information of the first Internet of Things device according to the location information of the first terminal device, including:

When there are multiple first terminal devices, the location information of one of the multiple first terminal devices is determined as the location information of the first Internet of Things device.

That is, when it is determined that there are multiple first terminal devices corresponding to the first IoT device, the location information of one of the terminal devices can be selected as the location information of the first IoT device. For example, if an IoT device is used by multiple users, the IoT device corresponds to the terminal devices of the multiple users, that is, the IoT device corresponds to multiple terminal devices. In this case, the location information of one of the multiple terminal devices can be used as the location information of the IoT device.

Optionally, after the first communication device determines the location information of the first Internet of Things device according to the location information of the first terminal device, the method further includes:

The first communication device receives a failure message or a rejection message sent by the second communication device, where the failure message or the rejection message is used to indicate that the third communication device is not authorized to use the service provided by the second communication device;

The first communication device acquires third address information of a sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device;

The first communication device sends the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the sixth communication device according to the third address information, and instructs the sixth communication device to send the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the third communication device;

Among them, the third communication device is a device that requests the location information of the first Internet of Things device.

In addition, the second communication device is a device that sends a first location information request message to the first communication device.

It can be seen from this that after the first communication device determines the location information of the first Internet of Things device, if it receives a failure message or a rejection message sent by the second communication device, indicating that the third communication device (i.e., the device requesting the location information of the first Internet of Things device) is not authorized to use the service of the second communication device, then the first communication device can obtain the third address information of the sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device, and then send the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the sixth communication device based on the third address information, and then the sixth communication device sends the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the third communication device.

For example, the first communication device may be AMF1, the second communication device may be AMF2, and the third communication device may be UE, that is, UE may send a second location information request message to AMF2, so that AMF2 sends a first location information request message to AMF1. In this way, after AMF1 determines the location information of the first IoT device, if AMF1 receives a failure message or a rejection message sent by AMF2, indicating that UE is not authorized to use the services of AMF2, AMF1 may obtain the third address information of the AMF (such as AMF3) currently serving the UE, and then send the location information of the first IoT device to AMF3 according to the third address information, and then AMF3 sends the location information of the first IoT device to the UE. Here, at least part of the content carried in the second location information request message and the first location information request message may be the same.

Optionally, the first communication device acquires third address information of a sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device, including:

The first communication device sends a first request to the fifth communication device, where the first request is used to indicate a request for a sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device;

The first communication device receives the third address information sent by the fifth communication device.

That is, the first communication device may request the sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device from the fifth communication device. For example, when the first communication device is AMF1 and the third communication device is UE, AMF1 may request AMF3 currently serving the UE from UDM.

In the second aspect, referring to FIG. 4 , which is a flowchart of a positioning method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method may include the following steps 401 to 404:

Step 401: The second communication device receives a second location information request message sent by a third communication device.

The second location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of the first IoT device.

In addition, the third communication device may send a network exposure function event exposure subscription (Nnef_EventExposure_Subscribe) message to the second communication device, where the Nnef_EventExposure_Subscribe message carries the second location information request message, or the Nnef_EventExposure_Subscribe message is used as the second location information request message.

In addition, the second communication device here can be NEF or AMF, and the third communication device can be AF or UE. For example, AF can send a second location information request message to NEF to request the location information of the first Internet of Things device; or, UE can send a second location information request message to AMF to request the location information of the first Internet of Things device.

Step 402: The second communication device determines a first communication device corresponding to the first IoT device according to the second location information request message and sends a first location information request message to the first communication device.

Here, the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device is the first communication device that can provide services for this positioning.

Among them, the second communication device can be AMF or NEF; the third communication device can be AF or UE. For example, AF can send a second location information request message to NEF, so that NEF determines the AMF that can provide services for this positioning, and sends a first location information request message to the AMF; or, for example, UE can send a second location information request message to AMF2, so that AMF2 determines AMF1 that can provide services for this positioning, and then sends the first location information request message to AMF1. It can be understood that if AMF2 is the same as AMF1, the interaction process between AMF2 and AMF1 described here can be omitted.

In addition, the first location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of the first IoT device, and the first location information request message includes at least part of the content of the second location information request message.

In addition, after the first communication device receives the first location information request message, it can determine the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, thereby obtaining the location information of the first terminal device, and then determine the location information of the first Internet of Things device based on the location information of the first terminal device.

As can be seen from the above, in the embodiment of the present application, the third communication device can send the second location to the second communication device. The first location information request message is used to request the second communication device to determine the first communication device that can provide the positioning service according to the second location information request message, and send the first location information request message to the first communication device, so that the first communication device can determine the first terminal device corresponding to the first IoT device, and obtain the location information of the first terminal device, and then determine the location information of the first IoT device according to the location information of the first terminal device. It can be seen that the embodiments of the present application can convert the positioning of IoT devices into the positioning of terminal devices associated with IoT devices, so that even if the working power consumption of IoT devices is extremely low and does not support the complex calculation of positioning services, the location information of IoT devices can be obtained.

Optionally, after the above step 402 “the second communication device sends a first location information request message to the first communication device”, the method further includes:

The second communication device receives the location information of the first Internet of Things device sent by the first communication device.

It can be seen from this that after the first communication device determines the location information of the first Internet of Things device, it can also send the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the second communication device.

Optionally, after the second communication device receives the location information of the first Internet of Things device sent by the first communication device, the method further includes:

The second communication device sends the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the third communication device;

or,

In a case where the third communication device is not authorized to use the service provided by the second communication device, the second communication device acquires a sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device;

The second communication device sends the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the sixth communication device, and instructs the sixth communication device to send the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the third communication device.

It can be seen that after the second communication device receives the location information of the first IoT device sent by the first communication device, the second communication device can also send the first IoT device to the device (i.e., the third communication device) that requests the location information of the first IoT device. If the third communication device is currently authorized to use the service provided by the second communication device, the second communication device can send the location information of the first IoT device to the third communication device; if the third communication device is currently not authorized to use the service provided by the second communication device, the second communication device needs to obtain the sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device, and then send the location information of the first IoT device to the third communication device through the sixth communication device.

The specific method for the second communication device to obtain the sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device may be method 1 or method 2 as follows:

Method 1: Optionally, the second communication device obtains a sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device, including:

The second communication device sends a first request to the fifth communication device, where the first request is used to indicate a request for a sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device;

The second communication device receives the third address information sent by the fifth communication device, and determines the device corresponding to the third address information as the sixth communication device.

It can be seen that the second communication device can request the sixth communication device that currently serves the third communication device from the fifth communication device. For example, when the first communication device is AMF1, the second communication device is AMF2, and the third communication device is UE2, after AMF1 sends the location information of the first IoT device to AMF2, if AMF2 finds that there is no context information of UE2 locally, it determines that AMF2 is not currently serving UE2, then AMF2 can request the AMF that currently serves UE2 from UDM, such as AMF3, and then AMF2 sends the location information of the first IoT device to AMF3, so that AMF3 sends the location information of the first IoT device to UE2.

Method 2: Optionally, the second communication device obtains a sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device, including:

The second communication device sends a failure message or a rejection message to the first communication device, and the failure message or the rejection message is used to indicate that the third communication device is not authorized to use the service provided by the second communication device, and to instruct the first communication device to obtain the third address information of the sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device, and to instruct the first communication device to send the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the sixth communication device, so that the sixth communication device sends the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the third communication device.

Here, optionally, the first communication device acquires the third address information of the sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device, including:

The first communication device sends a first request to the fifth communication device, where the first request is used to indicate a request for the sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device;

The first communication device receives the third address information sent by the fifth communication device, and determines the device corresponding to the third address information as the sixth communication device.

It can be seen from this that the second communication device can notify the first communication device that the third communication device is currently not authorized to use the service provided by the second communication device, so that the first communication device obtains the sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device. For example, when the first communication device is AMF1, the second communication device is AMF2, and the third communication device is UE2, after AMF1 sends the location information of the first IoT device to AMF2, if AMF2 finds that there is no context information of UE2 locally, it determines that AMF2 is not currently serving UE2, then AMF2 can send a failure message or a rejection message to AMF1, indicating that AMF2 is not currently serving UE2, so that AMF1 requests the UDM for the AMF currently serving UE2, such as AMF3, and then AMF1 sends the location information of the first IoT device to AMF3, so that AMF3 sends the location information of the first IoT device to UE2.

Optionally, the second location information request message includes at least one of the following items A-1 to A-4:

Item A-1: first identification information of the first IoT device;

Item A-2: service level information, the service level information is used to indicate the level of the location information of the first IoT device requested this time;

Item A-3: regional information associated with the first IoT device, where the regional information is used to indicate a regional range for obtaining location information of the first IoT device;

Among them, the explanations of items A-1 to A-4 can be found in the previous text and will not be repeated here.

Optionally, before the above step 402 “the second communication device determines the first communication device corresponding to the first IoT device according to the second location information request message”, the method further includes the following step B-1 or B-2:

Step B-1: when the operator configuration information or the first protocol indicates that the location information of the IoT device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the IoT device, the second communication device authorizes the second location information request message, wherein the first protocol is a protocol between the operator and the third communication device;

Step B-2: When the subscription data of the third communication device or the second protocol indicates that the location information of the IoT device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the IoT device, the second communication device authorizes the second location information request message, wherein the second protocol is a protocol between the third communication device and the first terminal device;

The second communication device determines, according to the second location information request message, a first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, including:

In a case where the second communication device authorizes the second location information request message, the second communication device determines the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device according to the second location information request message.

Among them, the above-mentioned "authorization second location information request message" is to allow the execution of obtaining the location information of the first Internet of Things device.

In addition, the above step B-1 indicates that: if the operator configuration information for indicating that “the location information of the IoT device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the IoT device” is configured, the second location information request message can be authorized; if the operator configuration information for indicating that “the location information of the IoT device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the IoT device” is not configured, the second location information request message is not authorized;

If there is a protocol between the operator and the third communication device for indicating that "the location information of the Internet of Things device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the Internet of Things device", the second location information request message can be authorized; if there is no protocol between the operator and the third communication device for indicating that "the location information of the Internet of Things device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the Internet of Things device", the second location information request message will not be authorized.

The above step B-2 indicates that: if the third communication device has contract data for indicating that “the location information of the Internet of Things device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the Internet of Things device”, the second location information request message can be authorized; if the third communication device does not have contract data for indicating that “the location information of the Internet of Things device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the Internet of Things device”, the second location information request message is not authorized;

If there is a protocol between the third communication device and the first terminal device for indicating that "the location information of the Internet of Things device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the Internet of Things device", the second location information request message can be authorized; if there is no protocol between the third communication device and the first terminal device for indicating that "the location information of the Internet of Things device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the Internet of Things device", the second location information request message will not be authorized.

From the above, it can be seen that when the second location information request message is authorized through the above steps B-1 or B-2, the second communication device determines the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device based on the second location information request message, thereby obtaining the location information of the first communication device, and then determines the location information of the first Internet of Things device based on the location information of the first communication device.

Optionally, the above step 402 “the second communication device determines the first communication device corresponding to the first IoT device according to the second location information request message and sends a first location information request message to the first communication device” includes:

The second communication device selects one of the first positioning service and the second positioning service as the target service according to the second target information;

The second communication device determines, based on the target service and according to the second location information request message, a first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device and sends a first location information request message to the first communication device;

The first positioning service is a positioning service based on a first communication device, and the second positioning service is a positioning service based on a fourth communication device;

The second target information includes at least one of the following:

positioning accuracy;

Whether the second positioning service is available.

In addition, the first communication device mentioned above may be a device with a mobile access management function (such as AMF), and the fourth communication device may be a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC).

Here, the second communication device determines whether the first positioning service and the second positioning service are available depending on implementation or operator policy.

Exemplarily, if the positioning accuracy is the first preset accuracy, the first positioning service can be used this time; if the positioning accuracy is the second preset accuracy, the second positioning service can be used this time; if both the first positioning service and the second positioning service are available, the first positioning service or the second positioning service can be used.

Optionally, the second communication device determines, based on the target service and according to the second location information request message, a first communication device corresponding to the first IoT device and sends a first location information request message to the first communication device, including the following step C-1 or steps C-2 to C-4:

Step C-1: when the target service is the first positioning service, the second communication device sends a third location information request message to the fifth communication device, the third location information request message includes at least part of the content of the second location information request message, and the third location information request message is used to instruct the fifth communication device to search for the first address information of the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, and instruct the fifth communication device to send the first location information request message to the first communication device according to the first address information;

Step C-2: when the target service is the first positioning service, the second communication device sends a fourth location information request message to the fifth communication device, the fourth location information request message includes at least part of the content in the second location information request message, and the fourth location information request message is used to instruct the fifth communication device to search for the first address information of the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device;

Step C-3: the second communication device receives the first address information sent by the fifth communication device;

Step C-4: The second communication device sends the first location information request message to the first communication device according to the first address information.

Among them, after the fifth communication device receives the third location information request message, it searches for the first address information of the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device according to at least part of the content in the third location information request message (such as service level information and/or area information associated with the first Internet of Things device). Exemplarily, if the service level information indicates that the positioning range is area A, the fifth communication device or the second communication device sends the first location information request message to the first communication device covering area A; if the area information associated with the first Internet of Things device indicates area B, the fifth communication device or the second communication device sends the first location information request message to the first communication device covering area B.

It can be seen from the above step C-1 that when the second communication device and the first communication device cannot communicate directly, if the above first positioning service is used, the second communication device can request the fifth communication device to find the first address information of the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things, so that after finding it, the fifth communication device sends a first location information request message to the first communication device according to the first address information. Among them, the second communication device can send a unified data management function event subscription (Nudm_EventExposure_Subscribe) message to the fifth communication device, and the Nudm_EventExposure_Subscribe message carries the above third location information request message, and the fifth communication device sends a mobile and access management function event exposure subscription (Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe) message to the first communication device, and the Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe message carries the above first location information request message.

It can be seen from the above steps C-2 to C-4 that, in the case where the second communication device and the first communication device can communicate directly, if the above first positioning service is adopted, the second communication device can request the first address information of the first communication device corresponding to the first IoT device from the fifth communication device, so that the second communication device can send a first location information request message to the first communication device according to the first address information. Among them, the second communication device can send a unified data management function terminal connection management acquisition (Nudm_UECM_Get) message to the fifth communication device, and the Nudm_UECM_Get message carries the above fourth location information request message; the second communication device sends a Nudm_EventExposure_Subscribe message to the first communication device, and the Nudm_EventExposure_Subscribe message carries the above first location information request message.

Optionally, the second communication device determines, based on the target service and according to the second location information request message, a first communication device corresponding to the first IoT device and sends a first location information request message to the first communication device, including the following steps C-5 to C-6:

Step C-5: when the target service is the second positioning service, the second communication device acquires the second address information of the fourth communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device;

Step C-6: The second communication device sends a fifth location information request message to the fourth communication device based on the second address information, and the fifth location information request message includes at least part of the content of the second location information request message. The fifth location information request message is used to instruct the fourth communication device to obtain the first address information of the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, and instruct the fourth communication device to send the first location information request message to the first communication device based on the first address information.

Here, in the above step C-5, the process in which the second communication device obtains the second address information of the fourth communication device corresponding to the first IoT device may include: the second communication device sends a sixth location information request message to the sixth communication device, and the sixth location information request message includes at least part of the content in the second location information request message. The sixth location information request message is used to instruct the sixth communication device to search for the second address information of the fourth communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device; the second communication device receives the second address information sent by the sixth communication device.

Among them, after the sixth communication device receives the sixth location information request message, it can search for the second address information of the fourth communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device based on at least part of the content in the sixth location information request message.

In addition, the sixth communication device mentioned above may be an NRF.

In the above step C-6, the process of the fourth communication device acquiring the first address information of the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device may include: the fourth communication device sends a seventh location information request message to the fifth communication device, the seventh location information request message includes at least part of the content of the second location information request message, and the seventh location information request message is used to instruct the fifth communication device to search for the first address information of the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device; the fourth communication device receives the first address information sent by the fifth communication device.

That is, the fourth communication device can request the first address information of the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device from the fifth communication device.

Among them, after the fifth communication device receives the seventh location information request message, it can search for the first address information of the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device based on at least part of the content in the seventh location information request message.

In addition, here, the fifth communication device may be a UDM.

It can be seen from the above steps C-5 to C-6 that if the above-mentioned second positioning service is adopted, the second communication device can first obtain the fourth communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device (that is, the fourth communication device that can provide services for this positioning), and then the fourth communication device obtains the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, thereby sending a first location information request message to the first communication device.

In addition, the fourth communication device may send a Nudm_UECM_Get message to the fifth communication device, where the Nudm_UECM_Get message carries the seventh location information request message; the fourth communication device may send a Nudm_EventExposure_Subscribe message to the first communication device, where the Nudm_EventExposure_Subscribe message carries the first location information request message.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, as shown in FIG5 , the method includes the following steps 501:

Step 501: The third communication device sends a second location information request message to the second communication device.

In addition, after the second communication device receives the second location information request message, it determines the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device according to the second location information request message and sends the first location information request message to the first communication device, so that the first communication device determines the first Internet of Things device according to the first location information request message. The first terminal device corresponding to the networked device further obtains the location information of the first terminal device, and determines the location information of the first Internet of Things device according to the location information of the first terminal device.

It can be seen that the embodiments of the present application can convert the positioning of the IoT device into the positioning of the terminal device associated with the IoT device. In this way, even if the IoT device has extremely low working power consumption and does not support complex calculations of positioning services, the location information of the IoT device can be obtained.

Optionally, after the third communication device sends the second location information request message to the second communication device, the method further includes:

The third communication device receives the location information of the first Internet of Things device.

Item A-1: first identification information of the first IoT device;

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, as shown in FIG6 , the method includes the following step 601:

Step 601: The first terminal device sends third target information to the first communication device;

The third target information includes at least one of the following:

first identification information of the first Internet of Things device;

In addition, after receiving the above-mentioned first identification information, the first communication device can store the association relationship between the first terminal device and the first identification information, so that after the first communication device receives the first location information request message for indicating a request for location information of the first Internet of Things device, the first communication device can include the first identification information in the first location information request message. The terminal device corresponding to the first identification information in the association relationship can be determined by the first communication device as the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, and then the location information of the first terminal device can be obtained, and the location information of the first Internet of Things device can be determined based on the location information of the first terminal device.

After receiving the capability information, the first communication device can store the capability information of the first terminal device, so that when the first communication device needs to execute the target process (including at least one of the discovery process, the paging process, and the inventory process) on the terminal device later, the first communication device can obtain the terminal device with the capability indicated by the capability information based on the capability information, so as to obtain the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, and then obtain the first terminal device. and determine the location information of the first IoT device based on the location information of the first terminal device.

After the first communication device receives the above-mentioned non-direct positioning indication, it can store the non-direct positioning indication, so that after the first communication device receives the first location information request message for indicating the request for the location information of the first Internet of Things device, it searches whether the non-direct positioning indication of the Internet of Things device (i.e., the first Internet of Things device) whose location information is requested is stored. If found, the positioning process of the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device is executed, so that the location information of the first Internet of Things device can be determined based on the location information of the first terminal device, so that the location information of the first Internet of Things device with more accurate positioning accuracy can be obtained.

In addition, the first terminal device here can be a UE, and the first communication device can be an AMF.

From the above, it can be seen that the embodiments of the present application can convert the positioning of the IoT device into the positioning of the terminal device associated with the IoT device. In this way, even if the IoT device has extremely low working power consumption and does not support complex calculations of positioning services, the location information of the IoT device can be obtained.

Optionally, the first terminal device sending third target information to the first communication device includes:

The first terminal device sends a second non-access stratum NAS message to the first communication device, wherein the second non-access stratum NAS message carries the third target information.

That is, the first terminal device may send a second non-access layer NAS message to the first communication device, and carry the third target information in the second non-access layer NAS message. Exemplarily, the second non-access layer NAS message may be a registration request message or an uplink non-access layer transparent transmission message.

Optionally, the first terminal device sending the first identification information to the first communication device includes:

The first terminal device periodically executes an inventory process to search for IoT devices, and sends the updated first identification information of the first IoT device to the first communication device.

From this, it can be seen that the first terminal device can periodically obtain the updated first identification information of the first Internet of Things device and send it to the first communication device. In this way, the identification information of the Internet of Things device stored in the first communication device can be the latest identification information, thereby reducing the probability of positioning failure due to the failure to update the identification information of the Internet of Things device in time.

In summary, the specific implementation of the positioning method of the embodiment of the present application may be as described in the following implementation mode 1, implementation mode 2 or implementation mode 3.

Implementation method 1: as shown in FIG. 7 , including steps 70 to 77 .

Step 70: The UE obtains the identification information of the IoT device and sends it to the AMF. The AMF stores the correspondence between the UE and the IoT device to determine the reader/writer associated with the IoT device.

The process of the UE obtaining the identification information of the IoT device includes the UE sending an excitation signal to the IoT device, and the UE receiving a reflection signal from the IoT device, wherein the reflection signal includes the identification information of the IoT device. Optionally, the UE periodically performs an inventory process to search for nearby IoT devices and sends the updated IoT device identification to the AMF. Here, the UE and the AMF can negotiate the inventory cycle.

Optionally, the UE sends capability information to the AMF, where the capability information indicates that the UE has the ability to communicate with the IoT device or has the ability to discover the IoT device.

Optionally, the UE sends a non-direct positioning indication of the IoT device to the AMF, indicating that the IoT device does not support direct positioning.

The UE may send a first NAS message to the AMF, where the first NAS message carries at least one of the identification information, capability information, and indirect positioning indication of the IoT device. Exemplarily, the first NAS message may be a registration request message or an uplink non-access layer transparent transmission message.

Step 71: The application function (AF) sends a second location information request message of the IoT device to the network exposure function (NEF).

Exemplarily, the AF may send a Nnef_EventExposure_Subscribe message to the NEF, where the Nnef_EventExposure_Subscribe message carries the second location information request message.

The second location information request message may include at least one of the following:

Identification information of IoT devices;

Service level information;

The regional information associated with the IoT device (i.e., the regional information where the IoT device may be located), which is used to indicate the regional scope for obtaining the location information of the IoT device;

The reader identifier associated with the IoT device.

Here, the service level information indicates the level of the second location information request message. Exemplarily, the service level information may include at least one of positioning accuracy, positioning time, positioning range, and level indication.

The possible regional information of the IoT device may be the location information that the IoT device has been to (for example, within a first preset time period). It should be noted that the possible regional information of the IoT device may be the location information of the mobile network (for example, a cell identifier, a tracking area identifier, etc.) or the geographical location information (for example, longitude and latitude, street, administrative district, etc.).

The reader/writer identifier associated with the IoT device can be the reader/writer identifier or the reader/writer holder identifier (i.e., the communication number of the reader/writer user). Among them, a reader/writer identifier can be associated with one or more readers/writers. Optionally, the reader/writer identifier can include at least one of the following: Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI), International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), and Generic Public Subs cription Identifier (GPSI). It should be noted that this type of object Networked devices are usually very close to the reader/writer and have a strong binding relationship with it, so the specific reader/writer can also be found through the reader/writer holder identification.

Step 72: NEF authorizes the second location information request received by AF and determines to use the AMF-based positioning service (location event exposure service).

Optionally, the NEF authorizes the received second location information request according to the operator configuration information or the first protocol between the operator and the AF. That is, when the operator configuration information or the first protocol indicates that the location information of the IoT device is represented by the location information of the reader/writer corresponding to the IoT device, the received second location information request message is authorized; otherwise, the second location information request message is not authorized.

Among them, NEF can determine whether to use AMF-based positioning service or GMLC-based positioning service according to the positioning accuracy in the second location information request message or whether GMLC-based positioning service (GMLC-based location service) and AMF-based positioning service are available. Here, NEF depends on the implementation or operator policy to decide whether GMLC-based positioning service and AMF-based positioning service are available.

Exemplarily, if the positioning accuracy is "cell level or Tracking Area (TA) granularity", or both GMLC-based positioning service and AMF-based positioning service are available, NEF determines to use the AMF-based positioning service this time.

Step 73: NEF sends a first location information request message to AMF.

Optionally, when AMF is able to communicate directly with NEF, NEF sends a fourth location information request message to UDM, and UDM queries the AMF that can provide the location information request (i.e., the AMF that can provide services for this positioning) based on the content included in the fourth location information request message, wherein UDM returns the address information of the queried AMF to NEF, so that NEF sends the first location information request message to AMF; exemplarily, NEF sends a Nudm_UECM_Get message to UDM, and the Nudm_UECM_Get message carries the above-mentioned fourth location information request message; NEF sends a Nudm_EventExposure_Subscribe message to AMF, and the Nudm_EventExposure_Subscribe message carries the above-mentioned first location information request message.

When the queried AMF cannot communicate directly with NEF, NEF sends a third location information request message to UDM, and UDM queries the AMF that can provide the location information request (i.e., the AMF that can provide services for this positioning) based on the content included in the third location information request message, and then UDM sends the first location information request message to AMF; exemplarily, NEF sends a Nudm_EventExposure_Subscribe message to UDM, and the Nudm_EventExposure_Subscribe message carries the above-mentioned third location information request message, and UDM sends a Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe message to AMF, and the Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe message carries the above-mentioned first location information request message.

The third location information request message, the fourth location information request message, and the first location information request message may include part or all of the parameters in the second location information request message in step 71, respectively, but the parameter names or expressions may be the same or different. For example, the third location information request message, the fourth location information request message, or the first location information request message may include identification information of the IoT device. Optionally, service level information and possible regional information of the IoT device may also be included.

For example, when the third location information request message (or the fourth location information request message) includes service level information and/or possible regional information of the IoT device, the UDM can determine the AMF based on the service level and/or possible regional information of the IoT device in the third location information request message (or the fourth location information request message), and send a first location information request message to the AMF. For example, if the service level indicates that the positioning range is area A, the UDM sends a first location information request message to the AMF covering area A; if the possible regional information of the IoT device is area B, the UDM sends a first location information request message to the AMF covering areas A and B. Among them, area A may include area B, and area A may also be a subset of area B. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In addition, the AMF determined by the above-mentioned UDM may be one or more.

It is understandable that if the NEF does not authorize the AF's request (i.e., the above-mentioned second location information request message) or cannot obtain the AMF that can provide services for this positioning from the UDM, the NEF will reject the second location information request message.

Step 74: AMF determines the reader/writer corresponding to the IoT device.

The AMF determines the reader/writer corresponding to the IoT device, including at least one of the following:

The AMF determines the reader/writer corresponding to the IoT device according to the stored association relationship between the UE and the IoT device (i.e., through the association relationship stored in the aforementioned step 70);

The AMF performs at least one of a reader discovery process, an inventory process, and a paging process on a UE capable of communicating with an IoT device or capable of discovering an IoT device;

The AMF determines the reader/writer based on the reader/writer identifier (one or more) included in the first location request message.

Step 75a: AMF uses the current location information of the reader as the location information of the IoT device;

Step 75b: AMF executes the reader positioning process and uses the obtained reader location information as the location information of the IoT device.

It can be understood that AMF can determine whether to execute the reader/writer positioning process based on at least one of the positioning accuracy in the first location information request message, the type of the first location information request message, the source of the first location information request message, whether there is an indirect positioning indication of the IoT device in the AMF, the identification information of the IoT device in the first location information request message, and whether the operator policy indicates that the location information of the IoT device is represented by the location information of the reader/writer corresponding to the IoT device.

For example, when the positioning accuracy is at the cell level or TA granularity, or when the first location information request message is a Namf_EventExposure Subscribe service operation message, or when the first location information request message comes from NEF or UDM, AMF does not execute the reader positioning process, but uses the current location information of the reader as the location information of the IoT device;

or,

For example, when the AMF stores an indirect positioning indication of the IoT device, or when the first location information request message carries a reader identifier, or when the operator policy indicates that the location information of the IoT device is represented by the location information of the reader corresponding to the IoT device, or when the positioning accuracy granularity is less than the TA granularity, or when the first location request message is a Namf_Location_ProvidePositioningInfo service operation message, or when When the first location information request message comes from GMLC, AMF executes the reader positioning process, thereby determining the location information of the reader obtained by executing the reader positioning process as the location information of the IoT device.

Among them, when executing the reader positioning process, the AMF can determine the LMF that can provide services for this positioning process based on the content of the received first location information request message (such as positioning accuracy, service level information, and possible regional information of the IoT device). For example, the AMF determines the above-mentioned LMF that supports the positioning accuracy based on the positioning accuracy, or determines the above-mentioned LMF based on the positioning range indicated by the service level information; or determines the above-mentioned AMF based on the possible regional information of the IoT device.

It is understandable that when an IoT device corresponds to multiple readers/writers, the location information of one of the multiple readers/writers can be used as the location information of the IoT device.

Step 76.AMF sends the location information of the IoT device to NEF.

Step 77. NEF sends the location information of the IoT device to AF.

Implementation method 2: as shown in FIG. 8 , including steps 80 to 89 .

Step 80: The same as step 70 in the aforementioned embodiment 1, which will not be described again here.

Step 81: The same as step 71 in the aforementioned embodiment 1, which will not be described again here.

Step 82: NEF authorizes the received second location information request of AF and determines to use the GMLC-based positioning service.

For example, if the positioning accuracy is lower than the "cell level or TA granularity", or the AMF-based positioning service is not available, the NEF determines to use the GMLC-based positioning service this time.

Step 83: NEF sends a fifth location information request message to GMLC.

The NEF obtains the GMLC address through configuration or network storage function (NF Repository Function, NRF) query, and sends a fifth location information request message to the GMLC.

For example, NEF sends the sixth location information request message to NRF, and NRF queries the GMLC that can provide the location information request (i.e., the GMLC that can provide services for this positioning) based on the content included in the sixth location information request message, wherein NRF returns the address information of the queried GMLC to NEF, so that NEF sends the fifth location information request message to the GMLC.

It should be noted that the sixth location information request message and the first location information request message may include some or all parameters in the second location information request message in step 81, but the parameter names or expression forms are different. The formats may be the same or different. For example, the sixth location information request message or the first location information request message may include identification information of the IoT device. Optionally, it may also include service level information and information about the area where the IoT device may be located.

Step 84: GMLC sends a first location information request message to AMF.

Optionally, GMLC sends a seventh location information request message to UDM, and UDM queries the AMF that can provide the location information request (i.e., the AMF that can provide services for this positioning) according to the content included in the seventh location information request message, wherein UDM returns the address information of the queried AMF to GMLC, so that GMLC sends the first location information request message to AMF; exemplarily, GMLC sends a Nudm_UECM_Get message to UDM, and the Nudm_UECM_Get message carries the above-mentioned seventh location information request message; GMLC sends a Nudm_EventExposure_Subscribe message to AMF, and the Nudm_EventExposure_Subscribe message carries the above-mentioned first location information request message.

It should be noted here that the seventh location information request message may include some or all of the parameters in the second location information request message in step 81, but the parameter names or expressions may be the same or different. For example, the seventh location information request message may include identification information of the IoT device. Optionally, it may also include service level information and possible regional information of the IoT device.

Step 85: The same as step 74 in the aforementioned embodiment 1, and will not be repeated here.

Step 86a: is the same as step 75a in the aforementioned embodiment 1 and will not be described again here.

Step 86b: is the same as step 75b of the aforementioned embodiment 1 and will not be described again here.

Step 87: AMF sends the location information of the IoT device to GMLC.

Step 88: GMLC sends the location information of the IoT device to NEF.

Step 89: NEF sends the location information of the IoT device to AF.

Implementation method three: as shown in FIG. 9 , including steps 90 to 97 .

Step 90: The same as step 70 in the aforementioned embodiment 1, and will not be repeated here.

Step 91: UE2 sends a second location information request message to AMF2.

Among them, the content included in the second location information request message is the same as that in the aforementioned implementation mode 1, and will not be repeated here.

Exemplarily, a user may use UE2 to search for IoT devices.

In addition, UE2 can send a NAS message to AMF2, and the NAS message carries the above-mentioned second location information request message (or the second location information request message sent by UE2 to AMF can be a NAS message).

Step 92: AMF2 authorizes the second location information request message.

Among them, AMF2 can authorize the received second location information request according to the contract data of UE2 or the first protocol between UE1 and UE2 (that is, allow the use of at least part of the content included in the second location information request message). That is, when the contract data of UE2 or the second protocol indicates that the location information of the IoT device is represented by the location information of the reader/writer corresponding to the IoT device, AMF2 authorizes the received second location information request message; otherwise, the second location information request message is not authorized.

When it is necessary to find IoT devices outside the coverage area of AMF2, AMF2 needs to determine whether it can serve AMF1 in the search range.

Step 93: AMF2 sends a first location information request message to AMF1.

The first location information request message may include some or all of the parameters in the second location information request message in step Y1, but the parameter names or expressions may be the same or different. For example, the first location information request message may include the identification information of the IoT device. Optionally, it may also include service level information and possible regional information of the IoT device.

Step 94: The process is the same as step 74 in the first embodiment and will not be described again here.

Step 95a: is the same as step 75a in the aforementioned embodiment 1 and will not be repeated here.

Step 95b: is the same as step 75b in the aforementioned embodiment 1 and will not be described again here.

Step 96: AMF1 sends the location information of the IoT device to AMF2.

Step 97: AMF2 sends the location information of the IoT device to UE2.

If UE2 is no longer under AMF2, for example, AMF2 finds that there is no context information of UE2 locally, then one of the following 7-1 and 7-2 may be executed:

Item 7-1: AMF2 requests the AMF currently serving UE2 from UDM, for example, AMF3, and then AMF2 sends the location information of the IoT device to AMF3, so that AMF3 sends the location information of the IoT device to UE2.

Item 7-2: AMF2 sends a failure message or a rejection message to AMF1, indicating that AMF2 is not currently serving UE2, so that AMF1 requests UDM for the AMF currently serving UE2, such as AMF3. Then, AMF1 sends the location information of the IoT device to AMF3, so that AMF3 sends the location information of the IoT device to UE2.

It should be noted that the above AMF1 and AMF2 may be the same or different. If AMF1 and AMF2 are the same, the interaction between AMF1 and AMF2 in the above method may be omitted.

In addition, the UE or RAN in the above-mentioned embodiments 1, 2, and 3 may be a reader/writer.

The positioning method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be executed by a positioning device. In the embodiment of the present application, the positioning method executed by the positioning device is taken as an example to illustrate the positioning device provided in the embodiment of the present application.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning device, which is applied to a first communication device, and the first communication device may be, for example, an AMF; as shown in FIG10 , the positioning device 100 includes:

A first acquisition module 1001 is used to acquire a first location information request message, where the first location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of a first IoT device;

A first determining module 1002 is used to determine a first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device;

A second acquisition module 1003 is used to acquire the location information of the first terminal device;

The second determination module 1004 is used to determine the location information of the first Internet of Things device according to the location information of the first terminal device.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

The third sending module is used to send the location information of the first Internet of Things device.

Optionally, the first location information request message includes at least one of the following:

first identification information of the first IoT device;

Service level information, where the service level information is used to indicate the level of the location information of the first IoT device requested this time;

The area information associated with the first IoT device, the area information being used to indicate the area range for obtaining the location information of the first IoT device;

Second identification information of a terminal device associated with the first Internet of Things device.

Optionally, the first determining module 1002 is specifically configured to:

In a case where the first location information request message includes the first identification information, determining a terminal device corresponding to the first identification information in an association relationship as the first terminal device;

Optionally, the device further comprises:

A second receiving module, used to receive first identification information of the first Internet of Things device sent by the first terminal device;

A storage module is used to store the association relationship between the first terminal device and the first identification information.

Optionally, the second receiving module is specifically configured to:

Receive a first non-access stratum NAS message sent by the first terminal device, wherein the first non-access stratum NAS message carries the first identification information.

Optionally, the first determining module 1002 is specifically configured to:

When the first location information request message includes the second identification information, the terminal device identified by the second identification information is determined as the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device.

Optionally, the first determining module 1002 is specifically configured to:

Execute the target process, and determine the acquired terminal device as the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device;

Among them, the target process is one of the terminal device discovery process, the terminal device inventory process, and the terminal device paging process.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

A third receiving module is used to receive capability information sent by the terminal device and store the capability information, wherein the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device has the capability to communicate with the IoT device or has the capability to discover the IoT device;

The first determination module 1002 executes the target process, specifically for:

According to the capability information, the target process is executed on a terminal device that has the capability to communicate with an IoT device or has the capability to discover an IoT device.

Optionally, the third receiving module is specifically used to:

Receive a second NAS message sent by the terminal device, wherein the second NAS message carries the capability information.

Optionally, the second acquisition module 1003 is specifically used to:

Determining whether to execute a terminal device positioning process according to the first target information;

The first target information includes at least one of the following:

The type of the first location information request message;

a source of the first location information request message;

Optionally, the second determining module 1004 is specifically configured to:

Optionally, the device further comprises:

a fourth receiving module, configured to receive a failure message or a rejection message sent by the second communication device, wherein the failure message or the rejection message is used to indicate that the third communication device is not authorized to use the service provided by the second communication device;

A third acquisition module, used to acquire third address information of a sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device;

a fourth sending module, configured to send the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the sixth communication device according to the third address information, and instruct the sixth communication device to send the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the third communication device;

Optionally, the third acquisition module is specifically used to:

Sending a first request to a fifth communication device, where the first request is used to indicate a request for a sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device;

Receive the third address information sent by the fifth communication device.

The positioning device in the embodiment of the present application may be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device may be a network side device. Exemplarily, the network side device may include but is not limited to the types of network side devices 12 listed above, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

The positioning device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the method embodiment of Figure 3 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described here.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning device, which is applied to a second communication device, where the second communication device may be, for example, an NEF or an AMF; as shown in FIG. 11 , the positioning device 110 includes:

The first receiving module 1101 is used to receive a second location information request message sent by a third communication device, where the second location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of a first Internet of Things device;

A third determining module 1102 is configured to determine, according to the second location information request message, a first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device and send a first location information request message to the first communication device;

Optionally, the device further comprises:

The fifth receiving module is used to receive the location information of the first Internet of Things device sent by the first communication device.

Optionally, the second location information request message includes at least one of the following:

first identification information of the first IoT device;

Optionally, the device further comprises:

a first authorization module, configured to authorize the second location information request message when the operator configuration information or the first protocol indicates that the location information of the Internet of Things device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the Internet of Things device, wherein the first protocol is a protocol between the operator and the third communication device;

or,

A second authorization module, configured to authorize the second location information request message when the subscription data of the third communication device or the second protocol indicates that the location information of the Internet of Things device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the Internet of Things device, wherein the second protocol is a protocol between the third communication device and the first terminal device;

The third determination module 1102 determines the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device according to the second location information request message, and is specifically used to:

In case of authorizing the second location information request message, a first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device is determined according to the second location information request message.

Optionally, the third determining module 1102 includes:

A selection submodule, configured to select one of the first positioning service and the second positioning service as a target service according to the second target information;

A determination submodule is configured to determine, based on the target service and according to the second location information request message, a location associated with the target service. a first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device and sending a first location information request message to the first communication device;

The second target information includes at least one of the following:

positioning accuracy;

Whether the second positioning service is available.

Optionally, the determining submodule is specifically used for:

In a case where the target service is the first positioning service, sending a third location information request message to a fifth communication device, the third location information request message including at least part of the content in the second location information request message, the third location information request message being used to instruct the fifth communication device to search for first address information of a first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, and instructing the fifth communication device to send the first location information request message to the first communication device according to the first address information;

or,

When the target service is the first positioning service, sending a fourth location information request message to a fifth communication device, wherein the fourth location information request message includes at least part of the content in the second location information request message, and the fourth location information request message is used to instruct the fifth communication device to search for first address information of a first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device;

receiving the first address information sent by the fifth communication device;

The first location information request message is sent to the first communication device according to the first address information.

Optionally, determine that the submodule is specifically used for:

When the target service is the second positioning service, obtaining second address information of the fourth communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device;

According to the second address information, a fifth location information request message is sent to the fourth communication device, the fifth location information request message includes at least part of the content of the second location information request message, and the fifth location information request message is used to instruct the fourth communication device to obtain the first address information of the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, and instruct the fourth communication device to send the first location information request message to the first communication device according to the first address information.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

A fourth sending module, configured to send the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the third communication device;

or,

A fourth acquisition module, configured to acquire a sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device if the third communication device is not authorized to use the service provided by the second communication device;

The fifth sending module is used to send the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the sixth communication device, and instruct the sixth communication device to send the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the third communication device.

Optionally, the fourth acquisition module is specifically used to:

The third address information sent by the fifth communication device is received, and a device corresponding to the third address information is determined as the sixth communication device.

Optionally, the fourth acquisition module is specifically used to:

A failure message or a rejection message is sent to the first communication device, wherein the failure message or the rejection message is used to indicate that the third communication device is not authorized to use the service provided by the second communication device, and to instruct the first communication device to obtain the third address information of the sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device, and to instruct the first communication device to send the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the sixth communication device, so that the sixth communication device sends the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the third communication device.

The positioning device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the method embodiment of Figure 4 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described here.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning device, which is applied to a third communication device, and the third communication device may be, for example, an AF or a UE; as shown in FIG12 , the positioning device 120 includes:

The first sending module 1201 is used to send a second location information request message to a second communication device, where the second location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of a first Internet of Things device.

Optionally, the device further comprises:

The fifth receiving module is used to receive the location information of the first Internet of Things device.

first identification information of the first IoT device;

The positioning device in the embodiment of the present application can be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device can be a network side device, and exemplarily, the network side device can include but is not limited to the types of network side devices 12 listed above, which are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application; the electronic device can also be a terminal device, and exemplarily, the terminal device can include but is not limited to the types of terminal devices 11 listed above, which are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The positioning device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the method embodiment of Figure 5 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described here.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning device, which is applied to a first terminal device, and the first terminal device may be, for example, a UE; as shown in FIG13 , the positioning device 130 includes:

The second sending module 1301 is used to send third target information to the first communication device;

The third target information includes at least one of the following:

first identification information of the first Internet of Things device;

Optionally, the second sending module 1301 is specifically configured to:

Send a second non-access stratum NAS message to the first communication device, wherein the second non-access stratum NAS message carries the third target information.

Optionally, the second sending module 1301 sends the first identification information to the first communication device, specifically configured to:

An inventory process is periodically executed to search for IoT devices, and the first identification information of the first IoT device after update is sent to the first communication device.

The positioning device in the embodiment of the present application can be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device can be a terminal device, and the terminal device can include but is not limited to the types of terminal devices 11 listed above, which are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The positioning device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the method embodiment of Figure 6 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described here.

Optionally, as shown in FIG14, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1400, including a processor 1401 and a memory 1402, wherein the memory 1402 stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor 1401. For example, when the communication device 1400 is a terminal, the program or instruction is executed by the processor 1401 to implement the various steps of the positioning method embodiment described in the third aspect or the fourth aspect, and can achieve the same technical effect. When the communication device 1400 is a network side device, the program or instruction is executed by the processor 1401 to implement the various steps of the positioning method embodiment described in the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a terminal device, as shown in FIG15 , which is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a terminal device implementing an embodiment of the present application.

The terminal device 1500 includes but is not limited to: a radio frequency unit 1501, a network module 1502, an audio output unit 1503, an input unit 1504, a sensor 1505, a display unit 1506, a user input unit 1507, an interface unit 1508, a storage unit 1509, At least some components of the memory 1509 and the processor 1510, etc.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terminal device 1500 may also include a power source (such as a battery) for supplying power to each component, and the power source may be logically connected to the processor 1510 through a power management system, so as to manage charging, discharging, and power consumption management through the power management system. The terminal device structure shown in FIG15 does not constitute a limitation on the terminal device, and the terminal device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange components differently, which will not be described in detail here.

It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the input unit 1504 may include a graphics processing unit (GPU) 15041 and a microphone 15042, and the graphics processor 15041 processes the image data of the static picture or video obtained by the image capture device (such as a camera) in the video capture mode or the image capture mode. The display unit 1506 may include a display panel 15061, and the display panel 15061 may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode, etc. The user input unit 1507 includes a touch panel 15071 and at least one of other input devices 15072. The touch panel 15071 is also called a touch screen. The touch panel 15071 may include two parts: a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 15072 may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (such as a volume control key, a switch key, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, and a joystick, which will not be repeated here.

In the embodiment of the present application, after receiving downlink data from the network side device, the radio frequency unit 1501 can transmit the data to the processor 1510 for processing; in addition, the radio frequency unit 1501 can send uplink data to the network side device. Generally, the radio frequency unit 1501 includes but is not limited to an antenna, an amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low noise amplifier, a duplexer, etc.

The memory 1509 can be used to store software programs or instructions and various data. The memory 1509 may mainly include a first storage area for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data, wherein the first storage area may store an operating system, an application program or instruction required for at least one function (such as a sound playback function, an image playback function, etc.), etc. In addition, the memory 1509 may include a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or the memory 1509 may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), a synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM) and a direct memory bus random access memory (DRRAM). The memory 1509 in the embodiment of the present application includes but is not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

The processor 1510 may include one or more processing units; optionally, the processor 1510 integrates an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly processes operations related to an operating system, a user interface, and application programs, and the modem processor mainly processes wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It is understandable that the modem processor may not be integrated into the processor 1510.

Among them, when the terminal device 1500 is used as a third communication device, the radio frequency unit 1501 is used to: send a second location information request message to the second communication device, and the second location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of the first Internet of Things device.

Optionally, after the radio frequency unit 1501 sends the second location information request message to the second communication device, the radio frequency unit 1501 is further configured to:

Receive location information of the first IoT device.

first identification information of the first IoT device;

When the terminal 1500 serves as a first terminal device, the radio frequency unit 1501 is used to send third target information to the first communication device;

The third target information includes at least one of the following:

first identification information of the first Internet of Things device;

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1501 sends third target information to the first communication device, specifically for:

Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1501 sends the first identification information to the first communication device, specifically for:

The embodiment of the present application also provides a network side device. As shown in FIG16 , the network side device 1600 includes: a processor 1601, a network interface 1602 and a memory 1603. The network interface 1602 is, for example, a common public radio interface (CPRI).

Specifically, the network side device 1600 of the embodiment of the present invention also includes: instructions or programs stored in the memory 1603 and executable on the processor 1601. The processor 1601 calls the instructions or programs in the memory 1603 to execute the method shown in Figure 3 or Figure 4 or Figure 5, and achieves the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a readable storage medium on which a program or instruction is stored, and when the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect described above is implemented. The various processes of the positioning method embodiment can achieve the same technical effect, and to avoid repetition, they will not be described here.

The processor is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes a computer readable storage medium, such as a computer read-only memory ROM, a random access memory RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the various processes of the positioning method embodiments described in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect above, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, they are not repeated here.

It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program/program product, which is stored in a storage medium. The computer program/program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the various processes of the positioning method embodiments described in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect above, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a positioning system, including: a first communication device, a second communication device, a third communication device and a first terminal device, wherein the first communication device can be used to execute the steps of the positioning method described in the first aspect above, the second communication device can be used to execute the steps of the positioning method described in the second aspect above, the third communication device can be used to execute the steps of the positioning method described in the third aspect above, and the first terminal device can be used to execute the steps of the positioning method described in the fourth aspect above.

It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprise", "include" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element. In addition, it should be noted that the scope of the method and device in the embodiment of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in reverse order according to the functions involved, for example, the described method may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the relevant technology, can be embodied in the form of a computer software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk), and includes a number of instructions for a terminal (which can be a mobile phone, computer, server, air conditioner, or network equipment, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above specific embodiments. The above-mentioned specific implementation modes are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of this application, ordinary technicians in this field can make many forms without departing from the purpose of this application and the scope of protection of the claims, all of which are within the protection of this application.

Claims

A positioning method, comprising:

The first communication device obtains a first location information request message, where the first location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of the first Internet of Things device;

The first communication device determines a first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device;

The first communication device obtains the location information of the first terminal device;

The first communication device determines the location information of the first Internet of Things device based on the location information of the first terminal device.
The method according to claim 1, wherein after the first communication device determines the location information of the first Internet of Things device according to the location information of the first terminal device, the method further comprises:

The first communication device sends the location information of the first Internet of Things device.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the first location information request message includes at least one of the following:

first identification information of the first IoT device;

Service level information, where the service level information is used to indicate the level of the location information of the first IoT device requested this time;

The area information associated with the first IoT device, the area information being used to indicate the area range for obtaining the location information of the first IoT device;

Second identification information of a terminal device associated with the first Internet of Things device.
The method according to claim 3, wherein the first communication device determines the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, comprising:

In a case where the first location information request message includes the first identification information, the first communication device determines a device corresponding to the first identification information in an association relationship as the first terminal device;

The association relationship includes an association relationship between the first identification information and the first terminal device.
The method according to claim 4, wherein the process of obtaining the association relationship between the first identification information and the first terminal device comprises:

The first communication device receives the first identification information of the first Internet of Things device sent by the first terminal device;

The first communication device stores an association relationship between the first terminal device and the first identification information.
The method according to claim 5, wherein the first communication device receives the first identification information of the first Internet of Things device sent by the first terminal device, comprising:

The first communication device receives a first non-access stratum NAS message sent by the first terminal device, wherein the first non-access stratum NAS message carries the first identification information.
The method according to claim 3, wherein the first communication device determines the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, comprising:

When the first location information request message includes the second identification information, the first communication device determines the terminal device identified by the second identification information as the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the first communication device determines the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, comprising:

The first communication device executes the target process and determines the acquired terminal device as the first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device;

Among them, the target process is one of the terminal device discovery process, the terminal device inventory process, and the terminal device paging process.
The method according to claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

The first communication device receives capability information sent by the terminal device and stores the capability information, wherein the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device has the capability to communicate with the IoT device or has the capability to discover the IoT device;

The first communication device executes a target process, including:

The first communication device executes the target process on a terminal device capable of communicating with an IoT device or capable of discovering an IoT device according to the capability information.
The method according to claim 9, wherein the first communication device receives the capability information sent by the terminal device, comprising:

The first communication device receives a second NAS message sent by the terminal device, wherein the second NAS message carries the capability information.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the first communication device obtains the location information of the first terminal device comprises:

The first communication device determines whether to execute the terminal device positioning process according to the first target information;

In the case of determining to execute the terminal device positioning process, the first communication device determines the location information obtained by executing the terminal device positioning process on the first terminal device as the location information of the first terminal device;

In the case where it is determined not to execute the terminal device positioning process, the first communication device uses the current location information of the first terminal device as the location information of the first terminal device;

The first target information includes at least one of the following:

The positioning accuracy carried in the first location information request message;

The type of the first location information request message;

a source of the first location information request message;

An indirect positioning indication, where the indirect positioning indication is used to indicate that the first Internet of Things device does not support direct positioning;

Second identification information, where the second identification information is identification information of a terminal device associated with the first Internet of Things device and carried in the first location information request message;

Operator strategy, which is used to indicate the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the IoT device Represents the location information of an IoT device.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the first communication device determines the location information of the first IoT device according to the location information of the first terminal device, comprising:

When there are multiple first terminal devices, the first communication device determines the location information of one of the multiple first terminal devices as the location information of the first Internet of Things device.
The method according to claim 1, wherein after the first communication device determines the location information of the first Internet of Things device according to the location information of the first terminal device, the method further comprises:

The first communication device receives a failure message or a rejection message sent by the second communication device, where the failure message or the rejection message is used to indicate that the third communication device is not authorized to use the service provided by the second communication device;

The first communication device acquires third address information of a sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device;

The first communication device sends the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the sixth communication device according to the third address information, and instructs the sixth communication device to send the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the third communication device;

Among them, the third communication device is a device that requests the location information of the first Internet of Things device.
The method according to claim 13, wherein the first communication device obtains the third address information of the sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device, comprising:

The first communication device sends a first request to the fifth communication device, where the first request is used to indicate a request for a sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device;

The first communication device receives the third address information sent by the fifth communication device.
A positioning method, comprising:

The second communication device receives a second location information request message sent by the third communication device, where the second location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of the first Internet of Things device;

The second communication device determines, according to the second location information request message, a first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device and sends a first location information request message to the first communication device;

The first location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of the first IoT device, and the first location information request message includes at least part of the content of the second location information request message.
The method according to claim 15, wherein after the second communication device sends a first location information request message to the first communication device, the method further comprises:

The second communication device receives the location information of the first Internet of Things device sent by the first communication device.
The method according to claim 15, wherein the second location information request message includes at least one of the following:

first identification information of the first IoT device;

Service level information, where the service level information is used to indicate the level of the location information of the first IoT device requested this time;

The area information associated with the first IoT device, the area information being used to indicate the area range for obtaining the location information of the first IoT device;

Second identification information of a terminal device associated with the first Internet of Things device.
The method according to claim 15, wherein before the second communication device determines the first communication device corresponding to the first IoT device according to the second location information request message, the method further comprises:

In a case where the operator configuration information or the first protocol indicates that the location information of the Internet of Things device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the Internet of Things device, the second communication device authorizes the second location information request message, wherein the first protocol is a protocol between the operator and the third communication device;

or,

In a case where the subscription data of the third communication device or the second protocol indicates that the location information of the Internet of Things device is represented by the location information of the terminal device corresponding to the Internet of Things device, the second communication device authorizes the second location information request message, wherein the second protocol is a protocol between the third communication device and the first terminal device;

The second communication device determines, according to the second location information request message, a first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, including:

In a case where the second communication device authorizes the second location information request message, the second communication device determines the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device according to the second location information request message.
The method according to claim 15, wherein the second communication device determines the first communication device corresponding to the first IoT device according to the second location information request message and sends a first location information request message to the first communication device, comprising:

The second communication device selects one of the first positioning service and the second positioning service as the target service according to the second target information;

The second communication device determines, based on the target service and according to the second location information request message, a first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device and sends a first location information request message to the first communication device;

The first positioning service is a positioning service based on a first communication device, and the second positioning service is a positioning service based on a fourth communication device;

The second target information includes at least one of the following:

positioning accuracy;

Whether the second positioning service is available.
The method according to claim 19, wherein the second communication device determines, based on the target service and according to the second location information request message, a first communication device corresponding to the first IoT device and sends a first location information request message to the first communication device, comprising:

When the target service is the first positioning service, the second communication device sends a third location information request message to the fifth communication device, wherein the third location information request message includes at least part of the content in the second location information request message, and the third location information request message is used to instruct the fifth communication device to search for the target service. The first address information of the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, and instructing the fifth communication device to send the first location information request message to the first communication device according to the first address information;

or,

In a case where the target service is the first positioning service, the second communication device sends a fourth location information request message to the fifth communication device, where the fourth location information request message includes at least part of the content in the second location information request message, and the fourth location information request message is used to instruct the fifth communication device to search for first address information of the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device;

The second communication device receives the first address information sent by the fifth communication device;

The second communication device sends the first location information request message to the first communication device according to the first address information.
The method according to claim 19, wherein the second communication device determines, based on the target service and according to the second location information request message, a first communication device corresponding to the first IoT device and sends a first location information request message to the first communication device, comprising:

When the target service is the second positioning service, the second communication device acquires second address information of the fourth communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device;

The second communication device sends a fifth location information request message to the fourth communication device based on the second address information, and the fifth location information request message includes at least part of the content of the second location information request message. The fifth location information request message is used to instruct the fourth communication device to obtain the first address information of the first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device, and instruct the fourth communication device to send the first location information request message to the first communication device based on the first address information.
The method according to claim 16, wherein after the second communication device receives the location information of the first Internet of Things device sent by the first communication device, the method further comprises:

The second communication device sends the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the third communication device;

or,

In a case where the third communication device is not authorized to use the service provided by the second communication device, the second communication device acquires a sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device;

The second communication device sends the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the sixth communication device, and instructs the sixth communication device to send the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the third communication device.
The method according to claim 22, wherein the second communication device obtains the sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device, comprising:

The second communication device sends a first request to the fifth communication device, where the first request is used to indicate a request for a sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device;

The second communication device receives the third address information sent by the fifth communication device, and determines the device corresponding to the third address information as the sixth communication device.
The method according to claim 22, wherein the second communication device obtains the current service of the third The sixth communication device of the communication device comprises:

The second communication device sends a failure message or a rejection message to the first communication device, and the failure message or the rejection message is used to indicate that the third communication device is not authorized to use the service provided by the second communication device, and to instruct the first communication device to obtain the third address information of the sixth communication device currently serving the third communication device, and to instruct the first communication device to send the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the sixth communication device, so that the sixth communication device sends the location information of the first Internet of Things device to the third communication device.
A positioning method, comprising:

The third communication device sends a second location information request message to the second communication device, where the second location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of the first Internet of Things device.
The method according to claim 25, wherein after the third communication device sends the second location information request message to the second communication device, the method further comprises:

The third communication device receives the location information of the first Internet of Things device.
The method according to claim 25, wherein the second location information request message includes at least one of the following:

first identification information of the first IoT device;

Service level information, where the service level information is used to indicate the level of the location information of the first IoT device requested this time;

The area information associated with the first IoT device, the area information being used to indicate the area range for obtaining the location information of the first IoT device;

Second identification information of a terminal device associated with the first Internet of Things device.
A positioning method, comprising:

The first terminal device sends third target information to the first communication device;

The third target information includes at least one of the following:

first identification information of the first Internet of Things device;

An indirect positioning indication, where the indirect positioning indication is used to indicate that the first Internet of Things device does not support direct positioning;

Capability information, where the capability information is used to indicate that the first terminal device has the ability to communicate with an IoT device or has the ability to discover an IoT device.
The method according to claim 28, wherein the first terminal device sends the third target information to the first communication device, comprising:

The first terminal device sends a second non-access stratum NAS message to the first communication device, wherein the second non-access stratum NAS message carries the third target information.
The method according to claim 28, wherein the first terminal device sends the first identification information to the first communication device, comprising:

The first terminal device periodically performs an inventory process to find the IoT device and sends the updated first IoT device to the The first identification information of the networked device is sent to the first communication device.
A positioning device, comprising:

A first acquisition module, used to acquire a first location information request message, where the first location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of a first Internet of Things device;

A first determining module, used to determine a first terminal device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device;

A second acquisition module, used to acquire the location information of the first terminal device;

The second determination module is used to determine the location information of the first Internet of Things device according to the location information of the first terminal device.
A positioning device, comprising:

A first receiving module, configured to receive a second location information request message sent by a third communication device, wherein the second location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of a first Internet of Things device;

A third determination module, configured to determine, according to the second location information request message, a first communication device corresponding to the first Internet of Things device and send a first location information request message to the first communication device;

The first location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of the first IoT device, and the first location information request message includes at least part of the content of the second location information request message.
A positioning device, comprising:

The first sending module is used to send a second location information request message to the second communication device, where the second location information request message is used to indicate a request for location information of the first Internet of Things device.
A positioning device, comprising:

A second sending module, used for sending third target information to the first communication device;

The third target information includes at least one of the following:

first identification information of the first Internet of Things device;

An indirect positioning indication, where the indirect positioning indication is used to indicate that the first Internet of Things device does not support direct positioning;

Capability information, where the capability information is used to indicate that the first terminal device has the capability to communicate with the IoT device or has the capability to discover the IoT device.
A communication device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, it implements the steps of the positioning method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, or implements the steps of the positioning method according to any one of claims 15 to 24, or implements the steps of the positioning method according to any one of claims 25 to 27, or implements the steps of the positioning method according to any one of claims 28 to 30.
A readable storage medium, wherein the readable storage medium stores a program or an instruction, and when the program or the instruction is executed by a processor, the steps of the positioning method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 are implemented, or the steps of the positioning method according to any one of claims 15 to 24 are implemented, or the steps of the positioning method according to any one of claims 25 to 27 are implemented, or the steps of the positioning method according to any one of claims 28 to 30 are implemented. step.