CN116830617A

CN116830617A - Method and apparatus for identifying service area in wireless communication system

Info

Publication number: CN116830617A
Application number: CN202280013456.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 金东妍; 李知彻
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-02-10
Filing date: 2022-02-09
Publication date: 2023-09-29

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to communication techniques and systems thereof for combining 5G communication systems with internet of things (IoT) technology to support high data transmission rates in post 4G systems. There is provided a method performed by a mobility management entity in a wireless communication system. The method includes receiving a first message including first information related to a location of a UE from a base station; in case the mobility management entity cannot determine whether the location of the UE is included in the area served by the mobility management entity based on the first information, sending a second message including parameters associated with the location of the UE to the location management entity; and receiving a third message including second information indicating an area to which the UE belongs, which is determined based on the parameter, from the location management entity.

Description

Method and apparatus for identifying service area in wireless communication system

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for identifying a service area in a wireless communication system. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method for providing an appropriate network access based on a service area to which a User Equipment (UE) belongs in a wireless communication system.

Background

In order to meet the demand for wireless data services that proliferated since the fourth generation (4G) communication systems were marketed, efforts are being made to develop enhanced fifth generation (5G) communication systems or pre-5G communication systems. Thus, a 5G communication system or pre-5G communication system is referred to as a transcendental 4G network communication system or a Long Term Evolution (LTE) after-system.

For higher data transmission rates, 5G communication systems are considered to be implemented on ultra-high band millimeter waves (mmWave), such as 60 GHz. In order to mitigate path loss on the ultra-high frequency band and increase the arrival of radio waves, the following techniques are considered for 5G communication systems, beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, analog beamforming, and massive antennas.

Further, various technologies for 5G communication systems are being developed to have enhanced networks, such as evolved or advanced small cells, cloud radio access networks (closed RANs), ultra dense networks, device-to-device (D2D) communications, wireless backhaul, mobile networks, cooperative communications, coordinated multipoint (CoMP), and interference cancellation.

There are also various other schemes developed for 5G systems, including Advanced Code Modulation (ACM) schemes such as hybrid Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) and Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) (FQAM) and Sliding Window Superposition Coding (SWSC), and advanced access schemes such as Filter Bank Multicarrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and Sparse Code Multiple Access (SCMA).

In contrast to conventional 4G systems, 5G systems allow for support for various services. For example, the most representative services may include, for example, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC), large-scale machine type communications (mctc), and evolved multimedia broadcast/multicast services (eMBMS). The system providing the URLLC service and the system providing the eMBB service may be referred to as a URLLC system and an eMBB system, respectively. Furthermore, the terms "service" and "system" may be used interchangeably.

Among them, the URLLC service is a service newly considered in a 5G system different from the conventional 4G system, and the service is required to satisfy ultra-high reliability (e.g., packet error rate of about 10 to about 5) and low delay (e.g., about 0.5 ms) as compared with other services. To meet such stringent requirements, URLLC services may employ shorter Transmission Time Intervals (TTIs) than ebmb services, and various methods of operation with the same transmission time interval are contemplated.

The internet is evolving from a human-centric connected network where humans create and consume information to an internet of things (IoT) network where information is communicated and processed between things or other distributed components. Another emerging technology is internet of everything (IoE), which is a combination of big data processing technology and internet of things technology, for example, through a connection with a cloud server. In order to implement IoT, technology elements such as sensing technology, wired/wireless communication and network infrastructure, service interface technology, and security technology are required. Inter-object connection technologies such as sensor networks, machine-to-machine (M2M), or Machine Type Communication (MTC) are recently being investigated.

In an IoT environment, intelligent Internet Technology (IT) services may be provided to collect and analyze data generated by things connected to each other to create new value for human life. By converting or integrating existing Information Technology (IT) technology and various industries, ioT may have various applications such as smart homes, smart buildings, smart cities, smart or networked automobiles, smart grids, healthcare or smart home industries, or most advanced medical services.

Accordingly, there are various ongoing efforts to apply 5G communication systems to IoT networks. For example, sensor networks, machine-to-machine (M2M), machine Type Communication (MTC), or other 5G technologies are implemented through schemes such as beamforming, multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), and array antenna schemes. The above application of cloud Radio Access Network (RAN) as big data processing technology can be said to be an example of a fusion of 5G and IoT technologies.

Advances in satellite communication technology have resulted in efforts to integrate satellite communication technology using limited amounts into mobile communication networks. More specifically, the third generation partnership project (3 GPP) is standardizing methods for allowing UEs to connect to a network (e.g., a 5G core network) through a satellite radio access network (satellite RAN).

In the current 3gpp 5g system, a mobile communication carrier may provide a service to a user in a limited country or area through a terrestrial access network. The area where a User Equipment (UE) registers with the core network to be managed and controlled for access and mobility is identified as a Registration Area (RA). The RA may include one or more Tracking Areas (TAs). The RAN provides radio coverage for one or more cells and one or more cells may be mapped to one TA. The RAN may identify the current location of the UE by a cell Identification (ID). According to country or region regulations, the service area of most 5G systems including cells, TAs or RAs prefer a method for indicating an area in a country or region boundary.

On the other hand, satellite networks may provide radio coverage in areas corresponding to one or more countries. The use of such satellite communication techniques allows UEs in multiple countries to be served using one cell specified in the 3gpp 5g system. In this case, since different regulations or laws are applied to each country or region, it is required to be able to provide different methods of exchanging data and control signals between the UE and the core network. However, the current 3gpp 5g system does not provide a method of controlling access and connection of a UE based on information about a country or region in which the UE and a core network are located.

The above information is presented merely as background information to aid in the understanding of the present disclosure. No determination is made, nor is an assertion made, as to whether any of the above may be applied to the present disclosure as prior art.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical proposal

Aspects of the present disclosure address at least the problems and/or disadvantages described above and provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a method and apparatus for identifying a service area in a wireless communication system.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus for precisely identifying a service area to which a User Equipment (UE) belongs in a wireless communication system.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus for providing an appropriate network access based on a service area to which a UE belongs in a wireless communication system.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus for precisely locating a UE in a cell covered by a Radio Access Network (RAN) in a wireless communication system.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus for obtaining a location of a UE in various formats and converting the obtained location format.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus capable of identifying in which country or region the location of a UE is and providing access and connection to a core network located in that country or region.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a mobility management device in a wireless communication system. The device includes a transceiver and at least one processor configured to control the transceiver. The at least one processor is configured to receive a registration request message from the UE including first information related to a location of the UE, to send a location determination request message including a parameter indicating the location of the UE to the location management device in case the area to which the UE belongs is not identifiable based on the first information, and to receive second information indicating the area to which the UE belongs based on the parameter determination from the location management device in response to the location determination request message; and transmitting, based on the second information, a registration reject message including third information indicating an area to which the UE belongs to the UE, in response to the registration request message.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a UE in a wireless communication system is provided. The UE includes a transceiver and at least one processor configured to control the transceiver. The at least one processor is configured to send a registration request message including first information related to a location of the UE to the mobility management device, and to receive a registration reject message including third information indicating an area to which the UE belongs from the mobility management device based on second information indicating the area to which the UE belongs in response to the registration request message. The second information is information determined by the location management device based on a parameter indicating the location of the UE in the case where the area to which the UE belongs cannot be identified by the mobility management device based on the first information.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a mobility management device in a wireless communication system. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a registration request message including first information related to a location of the UE from the UE, transmitting a location determination request message including a parameter indicating a location of the UE to the location management device in case that an area to which the UE belongs is not identifiable based on the first information, receiving second information indicating an area to which the UE belongs, determined based on the parameter, from the location management device in response to the location determination request message, and transmitting a registration rejection message including third information indicating an area to which the UE belongs to the UE based on the second information in response to the registration request message.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a UE in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes transmitting a registration request message including first information related to a location of a UE to a mobility management device; and receiving, from the mobility management device, a registration reject message including third information indicating an area to which the UE belongs, based on the second information indicating the area to which the UE belongs, in response to the registration request message. The second information is information determined by the location management device based on a parameter indicating the location of the UE in the case where the area to which the UE belongs cannot be identified by the mobility management device based on the first information.

According to the present disclosure, there is provided a method in which, in the case where a UE transmits a request to connect to a core network through a radio access network, the core network can measure and predict a location of the UE and identify a country or region in which the UE is located, making it possible to effectively determine whether it is identical to the country or region in which the core network is located, and a method in which the core network transmits information about the country or region in which the UE is currently located to the core network based on the determination.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses various embodiments of the disclosure.

Drawings

The foregoing and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a view showing the structure of a fifth generation (5G) system for location services according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 is a view showing the structure of a service area of a 5G system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a view illustrating a network registration procedure of a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4a, 4b, and 4c are diagrams illustrating processes related to a location request of a User Equipment (UE) periodically or by triggering according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 is a view showing the structure of a mobility management device (or mobility management function) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 is a view illustrating an internal structure of a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a view showing an internal structure of a position management device (or position management function) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is a view schematically showing an internal structure of a UE in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

fig. 9 is a view illustrating an internal structure of a Radio Access Network (RAN) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Like reference numerals are used to denote like elements throughout the figures.

Detailed Description

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to aid understanding, but these are to be considered exemplary only. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to literature meanings, but are used only by the inventors to enable clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following descriptions of the various embodiments of the present disclosure are provided for illustration only and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

It should be understood that the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a component surface" includes reference to one or more such surfaces.

For ease of description, some terms and names defined in the third generation partnership project long term evolution (3 GPP LTE) standard may be used hereinafter. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these terms and names, and may be equally applicable to systems conforming to other standards.

Fig. 1 is a view showing the structure of a 5G system for location services according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The system architecture may include various components (e.g., network Functions (NFs)) with reference to fig. 1,5G. Fig. 1 shows some components, such as a User Equipment (UE) 101, (radio) Access Network (AN) 102, (core) access and mobility management function (AMF) device 103, unified Data Management (UDM) device 104, network Exposure Function (NEF) device 105, application Function (AF) device 106, location Management Function (LMF) device 107, gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) device 108, location Retrieval Function (LRF) device

Each of the devices shown in fig. 1 may be implemented as a server or device, or may be implemented as a network slice instance. When implemented as network slice instances, two or more identical or different network slice instances may be implemented in one server or device, or one network slice instance may be implemented in two or more servers or devices.

Each NF may support the following functions.

The UE 101 may represent a user device. A UE may be referred to as a terminal, a Mobile Equipment (ME), or a Mobile Station (MS). Furthermore, the UE may be a portable device such as a laptop computer, a mobile phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a smart phone or a multimedia device, or may be a non-portable device such as a Personal Computer (PC) or an in-vehicle device. In the following description, a user equipment is referred to as a User Equipment (UE) or a terminal.

The (R) AN 102 is collectively referred to as a new radio access technology supporting E-UTRA (evolved E-UTRA) and a new radio access technology (new radio (NR)) (e.g., gndeb (gNB)), E-UTRA being evolved from a 4G radio access technology. RAN 102 may involve the handling of various positioning procedures including the positioning of target UEs, providing location related information not associated with a particular target UE, and the transmission of positioning messages between an AMF or LMF and a target UE.

The AMF 103 may provide functions for access and mobility management per UE and may be basically connected to one AMF per UE. In particular, AMF 103 may support inter-CN node signaling, radio Access Network (RAN) CP interface (i.e., N2 interface) termination, NAS signaling termination (N1), NAS signaling security (NAS ciphering) and integrity protection, AS security control, registration management (registration area management), connectivity management, idle mode UE reachability (including control and execution of paging retransmissions), mobility management control (subscription and policy), intra-system mobility and inter-system mobility support, network slicing support, SMF selection, lawful interception (interface to AMF event and LI system), transfer of Session Management (SM) messages between UE and SMF, transparent proxy for SM message routing, access authentication, access authorization including roaming authority checking, transfer of SMs messages between UE and Short Message Service Function (SMSF), security anchor function (SEA), and Security Context Management (SCM) AS used for mobility between 3GPP access networks. All or part of the functionality of AMF 103 may be supported in a single AMF instance operating as one AMF. The AMF 103 may include a function of managing the location of the target UE for all types of location requests. AMF 103 can access GMLC and NEF through Namf interface, RAN through N2 reference point, and UE through N1 reference point.

The UDM 104 may store, for example, subscription data, policy data of the user. The UDM 104 may store LCS subscriber LCS privacy profiles and routing information. UDM can be accessed from AMF, GMLC or NEF through the Nudm interface.

The NEF 105 may provide network capabilities and events of another NF connected to the NF to third parties, AF 106 and edge computing devices (edge computing). The NEF may provide a means to access location services via an external AF or an internal AF. The AF may use an API to access location services from the NEF. Depending on QoS requirements, the NEF may transmit a location request to the GMLC or an event exposure requesting location information transmitted from the AMF or UDM. When using event exposure through the AMF, the NEF may request routing information and/or target UE personal information from the UDM through the Nudm interface.

AF 106 may interact with the 3GPP core network to provide services (e.g., support functions such as application impact on traffic routing, network capability exposure access, and interaction with policy frameworks for policy control).

The LMF 107 may manage the overall coordination and scheduling of resources required for registering in or accessing the core network's UE's location. LMF 107 may calculate or identify final position and velocity estimates and predict the accuracy achieved. The LMF may receive a location request for the target UE from the serving AMF using an Nlmf (or Nl) interface. The LMF may interact with UEs to exchange location information applicable to UE-assisted positioning methods and UE-based positioning methods, and may interact with RAN 102 to obtain location information. The UE assisted positioning method (or UE assisted mode) refers to a method in which the UE obtains a position measurement value and transmits it to another entity (e.g., LMF) so that the entity calculates the position. A UE-based positioning method (or a UE-based mode) refers to a method in which a UE obtains a position measurement value and then uses assistance data provided from a serving Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) to allow the UE to calculate a position estimate. Other applicable modes may include an independent mode in which the UE calculates the measurement estimate independently without assistance from the serving PLMN after obtaining the location measurement and a network-based mode in which the location estimate is calculated from the serving PLMN from which the location measurement was obtained.

GMLC 108 corresponds to a first node where LCS client 110 or external client 111 may access the core network. The GMLC 108 may include the functions necessary to support LCS. One PLMN may include one or more GMLCs. The AF 106 and NF may access the GMLC 108 directly or indirectly through the NEF 105. The GMLC 108 may request routing information and/or target UE privacy information from the UDM 104 via the Nudm interface. The GMLC 108 may perform authentication on the external LCS client 110 or AF 106 and identify the target UE privacy and then use the Namf interface to communicate the location request to the serving AMF 103 or, in the case of a roaming UE, to the GMLC of the other PLMN using the Ngmlc interface.

LRF 109 may be located with GMLC 108 or in a separate location. LRF 109 may search or verify location information. LRF 109 may provide relevant information and/or routing for UEs that have begun an emergency Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session.

The LCS client 110 may interact with the GMLC 108 to obtain location information about one or more UEs. The LCS client 110 may be included in the UE or located outside the UE.

The external client 111 is collectively referred to as a device capable of interacting with the GMLC 108 to obtain location information about one or more UEs through the 5G system from outside the 3GPP system, although not shown in fig. 1 for clarity of description.

In a 3GPP system, a conceptual link between NFs in a connected 5G system is defined as a reference point. Example reference points included in the 5G system architecture shown in fig. 1 are provided below.

-N1 reference Point between UE and AMF

-N2-N2 reference point between (R) AN and AMF

-N8 reference Point between UDM and AMF

-N33 reference Point between NEF and AF

-N51 reference point between AMF and NEF

-N52 reference Point between UDM and NEF

-NL1 reference point between AMF and LMF

Reference Point between AMF and GMLC NL2

-NL5 reference point between NEF and GMLC

NL 6-reference Point between UDM and GMLC

NL7 reference Point between two LMFs

-Le-reference point between LCS client and GMLC or LCS client and LRF

In the following description, a terminal may refer to a UE 101, and the terms "UE" and "terminal" may be used interchangeably. In this case, unless otherwise defined, the terminal should be understood as the UE 101.

The networks and core networks included in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be concepts that include network devices. The mobility management device (or mobility management function), the location management device (or location management function) and the gateway mobile location center may each be configured as separate devices or may be configured to be included in a network device.

Fig. 2 is a view showing the structure of a service area of a 5G system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 2, a service area 201 corresponds to an area in which 5G services can be provided through a Radio Access Network (RAN) 205. Service area 201 may include one or more countries or regions. Fig. 2 shows an example in which the service area 201 according to an embodiment includes two countries.

Referring to fig. 2, country a 202 corresponds to the territory of country a. Country B203 corresponds to the territory of country B. The same applies to the territory or the territory and the territory, depending on the location where satellite access is provided.

Referring to fig. 2, when a UE is located within the boundary of country a, it is denoted as UE 204-a, and when a UE is located within the boundary of country B, it is denoted as UE 204-B

Referring to fig. 2, a ran 205 corresponds to a network providing wireless access so that a UE can connect to a core network in a 5G system. As described above in connection with RAN 102 of fig. 1, access to E-UTRA and access to NR may be provided, which may include terrestrial access and satellite access. RAN 205 may broadcast all ID PLMN IDs accessible in the radio area covered by RAN 205. The UE may select a PLMN ID having the highest priority among selectable PLMN IDs according to subscriber information stored in a USIM or other location of the UE among PLMN IDs broadcasted from the RAN 205 and request the RAN 205 to connect to a core network identified by the corresponding PLMN ID.

Referring to fig. 2, core network a206 refers to a core network located within the boundaries of country a. Core network B207 refers to a core network located within the boundaries of country B. The core network a206 and the core network B207 may be distinguished by different PLMN IDs.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, when different regulations need to be applied to country a and country B, different connectable core networks may be selected depending on the current location of the UE. When the current location of the UE is inside country a, the UE 204-a may connect to core network a206 via RAN 205, and if it is inside country B, the UE 204-B may connect to core network B207 via RAN 205.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when a UE 204-a located in country a or a UE 204-B located in country B attempts to connect to a core network a206 through a RAN 205, the core network a206 may determine whether the country in which the UE is currently located is the same as the country in which the core network a is located based on information related to the location of the UE. The information related to the location of the UE may include a cell ID, a TA ID, and a gNB ID. If the core network a206 cannot determine the country in which the UE is currently located based on information related to the location of the UE, the core network a206 may send a request for information for measuring and calculating a more accurate location to the UE that has requested a connection. The core network a206 may determine the country in which the UE is currently located based on the location measurement and calculation information received from the UE requesting connection and perform the following operations (a) to (e).

(a) When the core network a206 determines that the country in which the UE is currently located is the same as the country in which the core network a206 is located (when the connection request UE is the UE 204-a) by the above-described method, the core network a206 may allow the connection of the UE 204-a and perform a registration procedure, a PDU session establishment procedure, and a service request procedure.

(b) When the core network a206 determines that the country in which the UE is currently located is different from the country in which the core network a206 is located (when the UE requesting connection is the UE 204-b) by the above method, the core network a206 may reject the connection of the UE 204-b and stop the registration procedure, the PDU session establishment procedure, and the service request procedure.

(c) In case (B) above, the core network a206 may reject the connection of the UE 204-B while providing the UE 204-B with information about the country in which the UE 204-B is located (country B). The country information may include a Mobile Country Code (MCC). UE 204-B may request that RAN 205 connect to the core network, where the UE subscribes in the corresponding country (country B) based on country information received from core network a 206.

(d) In case (c) above, the core network a206 may provide the UE with information about the country in which the UE 204-b is located and/or the PLMN ID of the core network to which the UE is subscribed in the country in which the UE 204-b is located.

(e) When the core network a206 determines that the country in which the UE is currently located is different from the country in which the core network a206 is located (when the UE requesting connection is the UE 204-B) through the above method, the core network a206 may initiate a roaming procedure from the country in which the UE 204-B is located to the core network (e.g., the core network B) to which the UE subscribes. In this case, the core network a206 may provide the UE 204-B with information about the roaming target core network (in the above example, core network B).

Fig. 3 is a view illustrating a network registration procedure by a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 3, in operation 301, the UE101 may send a registration request message to the AMF 103 via the RAN 102. The registration request message may include information related to the location of the UE 101. The information related to the location of the UE101 may include at least one of a cell identifier (cell ID), tracking Area ID (TAI), gNB ID, and/or location information about the UE101 provided from a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) or Global Positioning System (GPS). At least one piece of information related to the location of the UE101 may be included in a registration request message sent by the UE101 to the RAN 102. At least one piece of information related to the location of the UE101 may be added when the RAN 102 transmits a registration request message of the UE to the AMF 103. The registration request message may be a message related to emergency services.

At operation 302, when a registration request message is received from the UE 101, the AMF 103 may determine whether a registration request for the UE 101 is valid based on information related to the location of the UE 101 included in the registration request message. The operation of determining whether the registration request is valid may be such that: it is determined whether the location of the UE 101 is included in a service area (e.g., country or region) serviced by the AMF 103 based on information related to the location of the UE 101 included in the registration request message. The service area served by the AMF 103 may be determined depending on the physical location or geographical location of the AMF 103. The AMF 103 may compare information related to the location of the UE 101 with information related to a service area serviced by the AMF 103 and determine whether the location of the UE 101 is included in the service area (e.g., country or region) serviced by the AMF 103 based on a result of the comparison. The service area served by the AMF 103 may be determined depending on the physical location or geographical location of the AMF 103. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the AMF 103 may compare information related to the location of the UE 101 with an ID of a service area (e.g., MCC value of PLMN ID) served by the AMF 103, thereby determining whether the area (e.g., country or region) in which the UE 101 is located is the same as the service area (e.g., country or region) indicated by the MCC value. The information related to the location of the UE 101 may include at least one of a cell ID, tracking Area ID (TAI), gNB ID, and/or location information about the UE 101 provided from a GNSS or GPS. The AMF 103 may identify a service area (e.g., country or region) in which the UE 101 is located based on information related to the location of the UE (e.g., cell ID, TAI, gNB ID, and/or location information about the UE provided from GNSS or GPS), and may identify a service area indicated by MCC, country name, GPS location information (e.g., GPS coordinates), or PLMN ID based on MCC, country code, location information provided from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), location information provided from Global Positioning System (GPS), or PLMN ID.

In operation 303, when the AMF 103 cannot determine whether the service area (e.g., country or region) in which the UE 101 is located is the same as the service area (e.g., country or region) indicated by the MCC value in operation 302, the AMF 103 may determine accuracy of location information about the UE 101, which is information required to indicate the service area (e.g., country or region) in which the UE 101 is located, to determine whether the service area (e.g., country or region) in which the UE 101 is located is the same as the service area (e.g., country or region) serviced by the AMF 103. The service area in which the UE 101 is located may be determined depending on the physical location or geographic location of the UE 101. The service area served by the AMF 103 may be determined depending on the physical location or geographical location of the AMF 103. The accuracy of the location information about the UE 101 may include a format for indicating the location of the UE 101. The accuracy of the location information about the UE 101 may be information indicating parameters or attributes for indicating the location of the UE 101. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the parameter or attribute may be information indicating MCC, country name, GNSS location information, GPS location information, or PLMN ID. If it cannot be determined whether the service area in which the UE 101 is located is the same as the service area (e.g., country or region) indicated by the MCC value, then a case may be included in which the MCC value does not indicate a particular service area (e.g., country or region). For example, when the MCC value does not indicate a particular service area, this may include when a country can use several MCC values (e.g., the united states may use 310 to 316 and each such MCC value may or may not map to a particular area of the country), or when the MCC value may be commonly used regardless of country (some MCC values (e.g., 901) may be used by satellite network operators regardless of serving country, or may be used when mobile communication operators test new mobile communications). The accuracy of the location information (or parameters or attributes for indicating the location of the UE) about the UE 101, which is information required to indicate a service area (e.g., country or region) in which the UE 101 is located, may include the following (f) to (j).

(f) MCC (for example, 310 to 316 in the United states, 450 in Korea)

(g) Country names (e.g., US, KR, DE, etc.)

(h) GPS location information and/or GNSS location information

(i)PLMN ID

(j) All or part of the combinations of (f) to (i) above

Operation 303 may be performed by LMF 107 according to other policies such as system management. In this case, after operation 302, the AMF 103 may transmit to the LMF 107 information related to the location of the UE 101 and/or information about a service area served by the AMF 103, such as PLMN ID (or MCC), received from the UE 101 and RAN 102 in operation 301.

In operation 304a, the AMF 103 may send a UE 101 location determination request (or location determination request) message to the LMF 107. The UE 101 location determination request message may include accuracy of the location information regarding the UE 101 determined in operation 303, which is information required to indicate a service area (e.g., country or region) in which the UE 101 is located. The UE 101 location determination request message may include location quality of service (QoS) information. The accuracy of the location information about the UE 101 may be included as one of the location QoS information, which is information required to indicate a service area (e.g., country or region) in which the UE 101 is located. The location QoS information may include at least one of LCS QoS class (best effort class or guaranteed class), accuracy of UE location information, or response time.

In operation 305, the lmf 107 may communicate with the UE 101 (access the UE 101) through the AMF 103 and the RAN 102 based on the information included in the UE location determination request message received in operation 304a, thereby measuring and calculating the location of the UE 101. The location of the UE 101 may be measured and calculated based on the accuracy of the location information about the UE 101. The location of the UE 101 may be measured and calculated based on parameters or attributes included in the accuracy of the location information about the UE 101. For example, when accuracy is included in GPS location information (e.g., GPS coordinates), the LMF 107 may measure and calculate the location of the UE 101 as GPS location information (e.g., GPS coordinates). The measurement and calculation of location may be performed by the LMF 107 or the UE 101 according to the location information determination method described above in connection with fig. 1.

In operation 306a, the lmf 107 may transmit a response message (the location information about the UE 101 may be information indicating a service area to which the UE 101 belongs) including the location information about the UE 101 obtained in operation 305 to the AMF 103. The response message may be a location determination response message to the location determination request message. In this case, the format of the location information about the UE 101 may be a format corresponding to a format included in the accuracy requested by the AMF 103 in operation 304 a. For example, when the accuracy includes GPS location information, the location information about the UE 101 sent to the AMF 103 may be in a GPS location information format.

Operations 304a through 306a may be replaced by procedures (304 b and 306 b) in which when RAN 102 is capable of providing location information about UE101, AMF 103 sends a location determination request message to RAN 102 instead of LMF 107 and receives location information about UE101 depending on the determination of AMF 103.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in which the AMF 103 transmits a location determination request message to the RAN 102 instead of the LMF 107 and receives location information about the UE101, if the information related to the location of the UE101 received by the AMF 103 in operation 301 does not include GNSS location information and the accuracy of the location information about the UE101 determined in operation 303 is GNSS location information and the GNSS location information is information available from the RAN 102 as a result of the determination using the information related to the RAN 102 and/or the gNB ID, the AMF 103 may transmit the UE101 location determination request message described above in connection with operation 304a (304 b) to the RAN 102. The UE101 location determination request message may include accuracy of the location information regarding the UE101 determined in operation 303, which is information required to indicate a service area (e.g., country or region) in which the UE101 is located. The UE101 location determination request message may include location quality of service (QoS) information. The accuracy of the location information about the UE101 may be included as one of the location QoS information, which is information required to indicate a service area (e.g., country or region) in which the UE101 is located. The location QoS information may include at least one of LCS QoS class (best effort class or guaranteed class), accuracy of UE location information, or response time. The RAN 102 may use GNSS to obtain GNSS location information about the UE101 and this may replace operation 305. RAN 102, which receives the UE101 location determination request message from AMF 103, may send a response message to AMF 103 that includes location information about UE101 (the location information about UE101 may be information indicating a service area to which UE101 belongs) as described above in connection with operation 306a (306 b). For example, the response message may include GNSS location information about the UE101 obtained using GNSS and sent to the AMF 103. The response message may be a location determination response message to the location determination request message. In this case, the format of the location information about the UE101 may be a format corresponding to a format included in the accuracy requested by the AMF 103 in operation 304 a.

In receiving location information about the UE 101 from the RAN 102 instead of operations 304a to 306a, the AMF 103 may include the location report level or information about the location report level in the UE 101 location determination request message described above in connection with operation 304a and transmit it to the RAN 102. The location reporting level (or information about the location reporting level) may include TAI, cell ID, GPS information, and/or GNSS information. AMF 103 may include the report type or information about the report type in the location determination request message. The reporting type may include information for indicating that location information about the UE is reported once and/or when a location change corresponding to a location reporting level (information about the location reporting level) occurs (e.g., when GNSS information about the UE 101 changes). If the report type is indicated as a case where a location change corresponding to the location report level occurs, the RAN 102 may transmit a response message including a location determination request for location information of the UE 101 to the AMF 103 when the location information of the UE 101 changes even after the UE 101 successfully completes the registration procedure. In this case, AMF 103 may continue operations 307 and 308 described below.

Instead of operations 304a to 306a, the procedures 304b and 306b by which the amf 103 receives location information about the UE 101 from the RAN 102 may be similar schemes as the NG-RAN location reporting procedure in 3gpp ts 23.502. The NG-RAN location reporting procedure may be as follows. AMF 103 may send a location report control message to RAN 102. The location report control message may include a location report level and a report type. RAN 102 may send the location report message in response to the location report control message. The location report message may include location information about the UE 101. RAN 102 may continuously send location report messages to AMF 103 according to the location report type. AMF 103 may send a cancel location report message to RAN 102. After receiving the location report message, RAN 102 may not send the location report message.

In operation 307, the AMF 103 may determine whether to convert the location information received from the LMF 107 (or from the RAN 102) about the UE 101 into information in a format that can be processed by the UE 101 in operations 301 and/or 306 (306 a and 306 b). The location information types that may be processed by the UE 101 may include MCC, cell ID, TAI, gNB ID, and/or country name. When it is determined that a conversion information type is required, the AMF 103 may convert the location information received from the LMF 107 (or from the RAN 102) and/or in operation 301 about the UE 101 into information in a format that can be processed by the UE 101. The types of schemes for converting the types of the position information may include the following (k) to (m).

(k) Converting GPS location information or/and GNSS location information into MCC value

(l) Conversion of national name into MCC value

(m) converting the PLMN ID into an MCC value (since PLMN ID is a combination of MCC and MNC, it may be a scheme to extract the MCC value). Operation 307 may be performed regardless of the determination of whether the registration request of the UE 101 is valid in operation 302 by the AMF 103. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the location information about the UE 101 received in operation 301 includes GNSS location information about the UE 101 and the registration request for the UE 101 is determined to be valid in operation 302, the AMF 103 may determine whether the GNSS location information about the UE 101 is information in a format processable by the UE 101 in operation 307. If the GNSS location information received with respect to the UE 101 in operation 301 is added by the RAN 102 transmitting the registration request message, the AMF 103 may determine to convert the GNSS location information into an MCC value. It is not limited thereto and may be applied to all the above-described location information types.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the AMF 103 may map country names, GPS location information, GNSS location information, or PLMN IDs to correspond to location information about the UE 101 (cell ID, TAI, gNB ID, GPS location information, or GNSS location information) or MCC, and may convert the type of location information about the UE 101 through the mapping information. Operation 307 may be omitted when it is determined that the type of transition information is not required (according to an embodiment, when the type of location information received with respect to the UE 101 is MCC).

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, operation 307 may be performed by LMF 107 according to other policies such as system management. In this case, after performing operation 307 immediately after operation 305, the LMF 107 may include the converted location information about the UE 101 in the response message corresponding to operation 306 a.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, if operations 304a through 306a are replaced by a procedure (304 b and 306 b) by which the AMF 103 requests the RAN 102 instead of the LMF 107 to receive location information about the UE 101 according to the determination of the AMF 103, operation 307 may be performed by the RAN 102 according to other policies (e.g., system management). In this case, the RAN 102 may include the translated location information about the UE 101 in a response message corresponding to operation 306 a. After operation 307, the AMF 103 may determine whether it is possible to connect to a network (e.g., a core network) through the AMF 103 in a service area (e.g., country or region) in which the UE 101 is located based on the location information about the UE 101 converted in operation 307 and/or the location information about the UE 101 received from the RAN 102 and/or LMF 107 in operation 306 a. If it is determined that it can connect to the network through the AMF 103, the remaining registration procedure and PDU session establishment procedure can be continued. (the registration procedure may be a registration procedure according to a standard. The PDU session establishment procedure may be a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment procedure according to a standard.) if it is determined that the network cannot connect through the AMF 103, the AMF 103 may send a message rejecting the registration request to the UE 101 in operation 308 b. The message rejecting the registration request may include the following information (n) to (p).

(n) notifying of rejection reason of "unable to register in network at UE location

(o) the location information (location information may be information converted into information of a format processable by the UE) indicating a service area (e.g., country or region) in which the UE is located, which is obtained in operation 305 or 307

(p) all or part of the above-mentioned combinations of (n) to (o)

Upon receiving the message rejecting the registration request including the above-described information (n) to (p), the UE 101 and/or the RAN 102 may perform PLMN selection again by referring to the information included in the message.

With respect to operation 308b, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE 101 that receives the registration request rejection message from the AMF 103 may perform PLMN selection again by referring to the information (n) to (p) included in the message.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, when the AMF 103 transmits a registration request rejection message, the RAN 102 may request the UE 101 to perform PLMN selection again by referring to information (n) to (p) included in the message.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, when the AMF 103 transmits a registration request rejection message, the AMF 103 may request the RAN 102 to perform PLMN selection again by referring to information (n) to (p) included in the message. The RAN 102 may inform the UE 101 of information about the selected PLMN, and the UE 101 may select the PLMN selected by the RAN 102 and send a registration request message to the core network. In this case, operation 301 and subsequent operations may be performed again with the selected PLMN. Alternatively, the RAN 102 may hand over the existing registration request to the core network belonging to the selected PLMN.

If it is determined that a connection to the network is possible through the AMF 103, the AMF 103 can send information (o) to the UE 101 and/or the RAN 102 (not shown). The UE 101 and/or the RAN 102 having received the information (o) may refer to the information (o) when performing a mobility management procedure and a session management procedure that occurs later. The mobility management procedure may include a deregistration procedure, and the session management procedure may include a service request procedure and a PDU session release procedure (network-initiated PDU session release procedure).

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the AMF 103 may include information (o) when a message informing the UE 101 of accepting the registration request (e.g., a registration accept message) is sent.

When the registration request of the UE 101 is a request for an emergency service in operation 301, the AMF 103 may transmit the location information about the UE 101 obtained in operation 305 or 307 to the external client 111 through the GMLC 108 in operations 308a-1 to 308a-2 after operations 301 to 307.

Fig. 4a, 4b, and 4c are diagrams illustrating processes related to a location request of a UE periodically or through a trigger according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 4a, 4b, and 4c, in operation 401, the UE 101, RAN 102, or AMF 103 may initiate a registration procedure, a PDU session establishment or modification procedure, or a service request procedure according to the embodiment of fig. 3.

In operation 402-1, the LCS client 110 may send a message (LCS service request message according to an embodiment of the present disclosure) for providing LCS service to a network request (core network according to an embodiment) through the GMLC 108. The LCS service request message may include a time interval for receiving location information about the UE101 and trigger information indicating an event for receiving the location information about the UE 101.

In operation 402-2, the GMLC 108 may obtain information from the UDM 104 identifying whether the LCS client 110 making the LCS service request subscribed to the LCS service in operation 402-1, and may identify that its LCS service request is valid by the information identifying whether the LCS client 110 subscribed to the LCS service.

In operation 402-3, the GMLC 108 may request information for accessing (arriving at) the AMF 103 and receive the information from the UDM 104. The information for accessing (arriving at) the AMF 103 may include the AMF 103 address.

In operation 402-4, the gmlc 108 may send a message to send a request for location information about the UE101 to the AMF 103 based on information included in the LCS service request message received from the LCS client 110 in operation 402-1 and information for accessing (arriving at) the AMF 103 received from the UDM 104 in operation 402-3.

In operation 402-5, the AMF 103 may send a message (a response message to a message requesting location information about the UE 101) to the GMLC 108 to acknowledge receipt of the request in operation 402-4, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In operation 402-6, the GMLC 108 may transmit to the LCS client 110 the acknowledgement information received from the AMF 103 in operation 402-5. In operation 402-1, the confirmation information may be included in an LCS service response message to the LCS service request message.

In operation 403, the AMF 103 may wait until the LCS service target UE 101 enters an accessible (reachable) state. The LCS service target UE 101 may be a UE 101 whose location information is requested by the LCS client 110.

In operation 404, the AMF 103 may perform a network-triggered service request procedure through the network when the LCS service target UE 101 is in the CM-IDLE state.

In operation 405, the AMF 103 may determine whether to initiate a subscription to the periodicity of the UE location information or trigger-based reception based on information indicating a condition for receiving location information about the UE (e.g., the following (q) to (s)), or upon receiving the LCS service request in operation 402-4.

(q) when the 5G services that can be provided can be changed according to the location of the UE 101

(r) when UE 101 accesses RAN 102 via satellite radio access technology

(s) the 5G service can be provided only when the service area (e.g., country or region) in which the UE 101 is located is the same as the service area (e.g., country or region) in which the AMF 103 is located

The condition for receiving location information about the UE 101 may include a duration, which is information indicating a period. The duration may be predetermined as the network or LCS service is formed, or may be set by the user.

In operation 406, the amf 103 may determine accuracy of the location information about the UE 101 based on the condition for receiving the location information about the UE 101 determined in operation 405. The accuracy of the location information about the UE 101 may include a format for indicating the location of the UE 101. The accuracy of the location information about the UE 101 may be information indicating parameters or attributes for indicating the location of the UE 101. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the parameter or attribute may be information indicating MCC, country name, GPS location information, GNSS location information, or PLMN ID. Operation 406 may be performed by LMF 107 according to other policies such as system management. The accuracy of the location information about the UE 101 may include at least one of MCC, country name, GPS location information, GNSS location information, or PLMN ID.

In operation 407, the amf 103 may perform an LMF selection operation based on the accuracy of the location information about the UE 101 determined in operation 406 and the condition for receiving the location information about the UE 101 determined in operation 405. For example, when the type of accuracy of the location information about the UE 101 determined in operation 406 is GPS location information, an LMF capable of measuring or calculating the GPS location information about the UE 101 may be selected.

In operation 408a, the AMF 103 may send a UE 101 location determination request message to the LMF 107 selected in operation 407, the message including the accuracy of the location information about the UE 101 determined in operation 406 and the condition for receiving the location information about the UE 101 determined in operation 405. The UE 101 location determination request message may include location quality of service (QoS) information. The accuracy of the location information about the UE 101 may be included as one of the location QoS information, which is information required to indicate the service area in which the UE 101 is located. The location QoS information may include at least one of LCS QoS class (best effort class or guaranteed class), accuracy of UE location information, or response time.

Operation 408a may be replaced by a procedure (408 b and 412 b) in which when the RAN 102 is capable of providing location information about the UE 101, the AMF 103 sends a location determination request message to the RAN 102 instead of the LMF 107 and receives location information about the UE 101 depending on the determination of the AMF 103. The AMF 103 may include the location report level or information about the location report level in the UE 101 location determination request message described above in connection with operation 304a and send it to the RAN 102. The location reporting level may include TAI, cell ID, GPS information, and/or GNSS information. AMF 103 may include the report type or information about the report type in the location determination request message. The reporting type may include information for indicating that location information about the UE is reported once and/or when a location change corresponding to a location reporting level (information about the location reporting level) occurs (e.g., when GNSS information about the UE 101 changes). For example, when the information related to the location of the UE 101 received by the AMF 103 does not include GNSS location information, and the accuracy of the determination regarding the location information of the UE 101 is GNSS location information, and GNSS location information is information available from the RAN 102 and/or information related to the RAN 102 as a result of the determination using the gNB ID, the AMF 103 may send the UE 101 location determination request message described in connection with operation 304a to the RAN 102.

In operation 409, the lmf 107 may communicate (access) with the UE 101 through the AMF 103 and the RAN 102 based on the information included in the UE location determination request message received in operation 408a, thereby measuring and calculating the location of the UE 101. The location of the UE 101 may be measured and calculated based on the accuracy of the location information about the UE 101. The location of the UE 101 may be measured and calculated based on parameters or attributes included in the accuracy of the location information about the UE 101. For example, when accuracy is included in the GPS location information, the LMF 107 may measure and calculate the location of the UE 101 as GPS location information. The measurement and calculation of location may be performed by the LMF 107 or the UE 101 according to the location information determination method described above in connection with fig. 1.

Instead of operation 409, when the AMF 103 sends a location determination request message to the RAN 102 instead of the LMF 107, the RAN 102 may obtain location information about the UE 101 according to the determination (408 b) of the AMF 103 in operation 408 a. For example, the RAN 102 may obtain GNSS location information about the UE 101 using GNSS.

In operation 410, the LMF 107 may send a message to the UE 101 requesting initiation of a subscription to receive UE location information periodically or through a trigger. The request message may be a call request message triggered periodically by the LCS. The message requesting initiation of a subscription to receive location information about the UE 101 may include conditions (408 a and 408 b) for receiving location information about the UE 101 received from the AMF 103 in operation 408.

In operation 411, the UE 101 may send a message to the LMF 107 acknowledging receipt of the request, which initiates a subscription to receive location information about the UE 101 in operation 410. The acknowledgement message may be a call return result message triggered periodically by the LCS.

In operation 412a, the LMF 107 may transmit a response message including the location information about the UE 101 obtained in operation 409 to the AMF 103. The response message may be a location determination response message to the location determination request message. In this case, the format of the location information about the UE 101 may be a format corresponding to a format included in the accuracy requested by the AMF 103 in operation 408. For example, when the accuracy includes GPS location information, the location information about the UE 101 sent to the AMF 103 may be in a GPS location information format.

Instead of operation 412a, when AMF 103 sends a location determination request message to RAN 102 instead of LMF 107 according to the determination of AMF 103 in operation 408a (408 b), RAN 102, which received the UE 101 location determination request message from AMF 103, may send a response message to AMF 103 that includes location information about UE 101 (location information about UE 101 may be information indicating the service area to which the UE belongs) described above in connection with operation 412a (412 b). For example, the response message may include GNSS location information about the UE 101 obtained using GNSS and sent to the AMF 103. The response message may be a location determination response message to the location determination request message. In this case, the format of the location information about the UE 101 may be a format corresponding to a format included in the accuracy requested by the AMF 103 in operation 408 a.

Instead of operations 408a, 409 and 412a, the AMF 103 may include the location report level or information about the location report level in the UE 101 location determination request message described above in connection with operation 408a and send it to the RAN 102 in the process of receiving location information about the UE 101 from the RAN 102. The location reporting level (or information about the location reporting level) may include TAI, cell ID, GPS information, and/or GNSS information. AMF 103 may include the report type or information about the report type in the location determination request message. The reporting type may include information for indicating that location information about the UE is reported once and/or when a location change corresponding to a location reporting level (information about the location reporting level) occurs (e.g., when GNSS information about the UE 101 changes). If the report type is indicated as a case where a location change corresponding to the location report level occurs, the RAN 102 may transmit a response message including a location determination request for location information of the UE 101 to the AMF 103 when the location information of the UE 101 changes even after the UE 101 successfully completes the registration procedure. In this case, the AMF 103 may continue with operation 413 and subsequent operations described below.

Instead of operations 408a, 409 and 412a, the procedure by which the amf 103 receives location information about the UE 101 from the RAN 102 may be a similar scheme as the NG-RAN location reporting procedure in 3gpp ts 23.502. The NG-RAN location reporting procedure may be as follows. AMF 103 may send a location report control message to RAN 102. The location report control message may include a location report level and a report type. RAN 102 may send the location report message in response to the location report control message. The location report message may include location information about the UE 101. RAN 102 may continuously send location report messages to AMF 103 according to the location report type. AMF 103 may send a cancel location report message to RAN 102. After receiving the location report message, RAN 102 may not send the location report message.

In operation 413, the AMF 103 may determine whether to convert the location information received from the LMF 107 (or from the RAN 102) about the UE 101 into information in a format processable by the UE 101 in operation 412 (412 a and 412 b). The MCC may be included in the types of location information that may be processed by the UE 101. When it is determined that a conversion information type is required, the AMF 103 may convert the location information received from the LMF 107 (or from the RAN 102) about the UE 101 into information in a format that can be processed by the UE 101. The AMF 103 may map a country name, GPS location information, GNSS location information, or PLMN ID to correspond to location information about the UE 101 (cell ID, TAI, gNB ID, GPS location information, or GNSS location information) or MCC, and may convert the type of location information about the UE 101 through the mapping information. If it is determined that information type conversion is not necessary, operation 413 may be omitted. For conversion, a method similar to the conversion method applied in operation 307 of fig. 3 may be used.

In operation 413, if the received location information regarding the UE 101 includes GNSS location information regarding the UE 101 and the registration request for the UE 101 is determined to be valid, the AMF 103 may determine whether the GNSS location information regarding the UE 101 is information in a format processable by the UE 101 in operation 413, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. If the received GNSS location information for the UE 101 is added by the RAN 102 transmitting the registration request message, the AMF 103 may determine to convert the GNSS location information to an MCC value. It is not limited thereto and may be applied to all the above-described location information types.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, operation 413 may be performed by LMF 107 according to other policies such as system management. In this case, after performing operation 413 immediately after operation 409, the LMF 107 may include the converted location information about the UE 101 in the response message corresponding to operation 412 a.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, if operations 408a, 409, and 412a are replaced with a process in which AMF 103 requests RAN 102 instead of LMF 107 to receive location information about UE 101 according to the determination of AMF 103, operation 413 may be performed by RAN 102 according to other policies such as system management. In this case, the RAN 102 may include the translated location information about the UE 101 in a response message corresponding to operation 412 a.

In operations 414-1 and 414-2, the AMF 103 may transmit the location information about the UE 101 obtained in operation 412 or 413 through the GMLC 108 (the LCS client 110 having transmitted the LCS service request in operations 402-1 and 402-4). The location information about the UE 101 may be information whose type has been converted by the AMF 103.

In operation 415, the UE 101 can detect an occurrence of a condition for receiving location information regarding the UE 101 received via a message to request initiation of a subscription for receiving location information regarding the UE 101 in operation 410.

In operation 416, the UE 101 can measure a location of the UE 101.

In operation 417, the UE 101 may perform a UE-triggered service request procedure when connection with a network (core network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure) is disabled after operation 411.

In operation 418, the UE 101 may notify the LMF 107 that the condition requested in operation 410 to receive location information regarding the UE 101 has occurred.

In operation 419, the LMF 107 may send a message to the UE 101 to confirm receipt of the report in operation 418.

In operation 420, the LMF 107 may measure and calculate the location of the UE 101 using methods similar to those described above in connection with operation 409. The location of the UE 101 may be measured and calculated with a type of accuracy of the location information about the UE.

In operation 421, the LMF 107 may transmit the information related to the location of the UE 101 obtained in operation 420 to the AMF 103.

At operation 422, the amf 103 may determine whether network services (e.g., 5G services) can be continuously received at the location of the UE 101 based on the radio access network technology used by the UE 101 or the location of the UE 101 discussed in connection with operation 405 and the information related to the location of the UE 101 received from the LMF 107 in operation 421.

In operation 423, the amf 103 may determine whether to convert the information related to the location of the UE 101 received from the LMF 107 in operation 421 into information in a format that can be processed by the UE 101. The location information types that may be processed by the UE 101 may include MCC, cell ID, TAI, country name, or gNB ID. When it is determined that the type of information needs to be converted, the AMF 103 may convert the location information about the UE 101 into information in a format that can be processed by the UE 101. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AMF 103 may map country names, GPS location information, GNSS location information, or PLMN IDs to correspond to location information about the UE 101 (cell ID, TAI, GPS location information, GNSS location information, or gNB ID) or MCC, and may convert the type of location information about the UE 101 through the mapping information. If it is determined that information type conversion is not necessary, operation 423 may be omitted.

In operations 424-1 and 424-2, the AMF 103 may transmit the information related to the location of the UE 101 obtained in operation 421 or 423 to the LCS client 110 through the GMLC 108.

In operation 425, the AMF 103 may transmit the information related to the location of the UE 101 obtained in operation 421 or 423 to the UE 101.

In operation 426, the AMF 103 or the UE 101 may initiate a procedure corresponding to, for example, a deregistration procedure, a PDU session release procedure, and a service request reject procedure according to the result of determining whether it is possible to continuously receive a network service (e.g., a 5G service) at the location of the UE 101 in operation 422.

Fig. 5 is a view showing the structure of a mobility management device (or a mobility management function or a mobility management entity) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 5, a mobility management device 500 may include at least one controller (e.g., processor) 510 and a transceiver 520 including a receiver and a transmitter, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The mobility management device may comprise a memory (not shown). The transceiver 520 and the memory may be connected to the at least one controller 510 to operate under the control of the at least one controller 510.

The at least one controller 510 may control a series of steps to perform the operations of the mobility management device described in connection with the embodiments. Transceiver 520 may transmit and receive signals to/from UE 600 and another network device (i.e., location management device 700).

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobility management device 500 may perform operations of a mobility management device (according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobility management device may be the AMF 103 of fig. 3 or fig. 4a, 4b and 4 c) according to the embodiments of fig. 1 to 3 and fig. 4a, 4b and 4 c.

Fig. 6 is a view illustrating an internal structure of a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 6, a UE 600 may include at least one controller (or processor) 610 and a transceiver 620 including a receiver and a transmitter, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The UE may include a memory (not shown). The transceiver 620 and the memory may be connected to the at least one controller 610 to operate under the control of the at least one controller 610.

The at least one controller 610 may control a series of steps to perform the operations of the UE described in connection with the embodiments. Transceiver 620 may transmit and receive signals to/from network device 500 or 700.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the UE 600 may perform operations of the UE according to the embodiments of fig. 1 to 3 and fig. 4a, 4b and 4c (the UE may be the UE 101 of fig. 1 or fig. 4a, 4b and 4c according to embodiments of the present disclosure).

Fig. 7 is a view showing an internal structure of a location management device (or a location management function or a location management entity) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 7, a location management device 700 may include at least one controller (e.g., processor) 710 and a transceiver 720 including a receiver and a transmitter, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The location management device may include a memory (not shown). The transceiver 720 and the memory may be connected to the at least one controller 710 to operate under the control of the at least one controller 710.

The at least one controller 710 may control a series of steps to perform the operations of the location management device described in connection with the embodiments. The transceiver 720 may transmit and receive signals to/from the UE 600 and another network device 500.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the location management device 700 may perform operations of a location management device (according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the location management device may be the LMF 107 of fig. 3 or fig. 4a to 4 c) according to the embodiments of fig. 3 and 4a to 4 c.

Fig. 8 is a view schematically showing an internal structure of a UE in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The embodiment of the UE shown in fig. 8 is for illustration purposes only, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Referring to fig. 8, a ue may include an antenna 805, a Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver 810, transmit (TX) processing circuitry 815, a microphone 820, and Receive (RX) processing circuitry 825. The UE also includes a speaker 830, a processor (controller) 840, an input/output (I/O) Interface (IF) 845, a touch screen 850, a display 855, and a memory 860. Memory 860 includes an Operating System (OS) 861 and one or more applications 862.

The RF transceiver 810 receives an input RF signal transmitted from a base station in a network via the antenna 805. The RF transceiver 810 down-converts an input RF signal to generate an Intermediate Frequency (IF) or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is sent to RX processing circuit 825, and RX processing circuit 825 filters, decodes, and/or digitizes the baseband or IF signal to generate a processed baseband signal. The RX processing circuit 825 sends the processed baseband signals to a speaker 830 (e.g., for audio data) or a processor 840 (e.g., for web-browsing data) for further processing.

TX processing circuitry 815 receives analog or digital voice data from microphone 820 or other output baseband data (e.g., network data, email, or interactive video game data) from processor 840. TX processing circuitry 815 encodes, multiplexes, and/or digitizes the output baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. The RF transceiver 810 receives the processed baseband or IF signal output from the TX processing circuitry 815 and up-converts the baseband or IF signal to an RF signal to be transmitted through the antenna 805.

Processor 840 may include one or more processors or other processing devices, and may execute an OS 861 stored in memory 860 to control the overall operation of the UE. As an example, processor 840 may control the reception of downlink channel signals and the transmission of uplink channel signals by RF transceiver 810, RF processing circuit 825, and TX processing circuit 815, in accordance with known principles. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, processor 840 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, processor 840 may control overall operations related to the operations of identifying service areas and UE network registrations. In other words, as an example, the processor 840 may control the overall operation of the operation of identifying the service area and the network registration, as described with reference to fig. 1 to 3, 4a, 4b, 4c, and 5 to 7.

Processor 840 may move data into and out of memory 860 as needed by the running process. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor 840 is configured to execute the application 862 based on the OS program 861 or in response to a signal received from a base station or operator. Processor 840 is coupled to I/O interface 845, and I/O interface 845 provides connectivity to UEs with other devices (e.g., laptop computers and handheld computers). I/O interface 845 is the communication path between these accessories and processor 840.

Processor 840 is connected to touch screen 850 and display unit 855. The operator of the UE may input data to the UE using the touch screen 850. The display 855 may be a liquid crystal display, a light emitting diode display, or other display capable of presenting text (e.g., from a website) and/or at least limited graphics.

The memory 860 is coupled to the processor 840. A portion of the memory 860 may include Random Access Memory (RAM), and the remainder of the memory 860 may include flash memory or Read Only Memory (ROM).

Although fig. 8 shows an example UE, various changes may be made thereto. For example, the various components of FIG. 8 may be combined together, each component may be further divided, or some components may be omitted, or other components may be added as desired. As an example, processor 840 may be divided into multiple processors, such as one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs) and one or more Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). Although the UE is configured similar to a mobile phone or a smart phone in fig. 8, the UE may be configured to operate as a different type of mobile or stationary device.

Fig. 9 is a view showing an internal structure of a Radio Access Network (RAN) (or base station) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 9, a wireless access network 900 may include at least one controller (e.g., processor) 910 and a transceiver 920 including a receiver and a transmitter, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The radio access network may comprise a memory (not shown). The transceiver 920 and the memory may be connected to the at least one controller 910 to operate under the control of the at least one controller 910.

The at least one controller 910 may control a series of steps to perform the operations of the radio access network described in connection with the embodiments. The transceiver 920 may transmit and receive signals to/from the UE 600, the mobility management device 500, and the location management device 700.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the radio access network 900 may perform operations of the radio access network according to the embodiments of fig. 3 and 4a, 4b and 4c (the radio access network may be the RAN 102 of fig. 3 or 4a, 4b and 4c according to embodiments of the present disclosure).

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a mobility management entity in a wireless communication system includes a transceiver; and at least one processor configured to control the transceiver; wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive a first message from the base station comprising first information related to a location of a User Equipment (UE), to send a second message comprising a parameter associated with the location of the UE to the location management entity in case the mobility management entity cannot determine whether the location of the UE is comprised in an area served by the mobility management entity based on the first information, and to receive a third message from the location management entity comprising second information indicating the area to which the UE belongs, determined based on the parameter.

Further, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, in response to the first message, send a rejection message to the UE based on the second information, the rejection message comprising third information indicating the area to which the UE belongs, in case the area to which the UE belongs is not included in the area served by the mobility management entity.

Further, wherein the reject message comprises information indicating that the area to which the UE belongs is not included in the area served by the mobility management entity.

Further, the area to which the UE belongs includes at least one of a country to which the UE belongs or an international area to which the UE belongs.

Further, the parameter includes information indicating mapping of the location of the UE to a country or international region to which the UE belongs.

Further, wherein the third message includes a location of the UE.

Further, wherein the parameter comprises information about at least one of a Mobile Country Code (MCC), a country name, global Positioning System (GPS) location information, global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) location information, or Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) Identification (ID).

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a location management entity in a wireless communication system includes a transceiver; and at least one processor configured to control the transceiver; wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive a first message from the mobility management entity comprising a parameter associated with a location of a User Equipment (UE), map the location of the UE to an area to which the UE belongs based on the parameter, and send a second message to the mobility management entity comprising information indicating the area to which the UE belongs.

Further, wherein the parameter comprises information indicating that the location of the UE is mapped to a country or international region to which the UE belongs.

Claims

1. A mobility management entity in a wireless communication system, the mobility management entity comprising:

a transceiver; and

at least one processor configured to control the transceiver;

wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

a first message including first information related to a location of a User Equipment (UE) is received from a base station,

in case the mobility management entity cannot determine whether the location of the UE is included in the area served by the mobility management entity based on the first information,

transmitting a second message including parameters associated with the location of the UE to the location management entity, and

and receiving a third message from the location management entity, wherein the third message comprises second information which is determined based on the parameters and indicates the area to which the UE belongs.

2. The mobility management entity of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

in case the area to which the UE belongs is not included in the area served by the mobility management entity,

In response to the first message, a rejection message including third information indicating an area to which the UE belongs is transmitted to the UE based on the second information.

3. The mobility management entity of claim 2,

wherein the reject message comprises information indicating that the area to which the UE belongs is not included in the area served by the mobility management entity.

4. The mobility management entity of claim 1,

wherein the area to which the UE belongs includes at least one of a country to which the UE belongs or an international area to which the UE belongs.

5. The mobility management entity of claim 1,

wherein the parameter includes information indicating mapping of the location of the UE to a country or international region to which the UE belongs.

6. The mobility management entity of claim 1,

wherein the third message includes the location of the UE.

7. The mobility management entity of claim 1,

wherein the parameter comprises information about at least one of a Mobile Country Code (MCC), a country name, global Positioning System (GPS) location information, global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) location information, or Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) Identification (ID).

8. A location management entity in a wireless communication system, the location management entity comprising:

A transceiver; and

at least one processor configured to control the transceiver;

wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

a first message including parameters associated with a location of a User Equipment (UE) is received from a mobility management entity,

mapping the location of the UE to the region to which the UE belongs based on the parameters, and

and sending a second message comprising information indicating the area to which the UE belongs to the mobility management entity.

9. The location management entity of claim 8,

10. The location management entity of claim 8,

11. A method performed by a mobility management entity in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

receiving a first message including first information related to a location of a User Equipment (UE) from a base station;

transmitting a second message including parameters associated with the location of the UE to the location management entity; and

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

in case that the area to which the UE belongs is not included in the area served by the mobility management entity,

13. The method according to claim 12,

14. The method according to claim 11,

wherein the area to which the UE belongs includes at least one of a country to which the UE belongs or an international area to which the UE belongs,

wherein the parameters include information indicating mapping of the location of the UE to a country or international region to which the UE belongs, an

Wherein the third message includes the location of the UE.

15. A method performed by a location management entity in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

receiving a first message from a mobility management entity comprising parameters associated with a location of a User Equipment (UE);

Mapping the position of the UE to an area to which the UE belongs based on the parameters; and