WO2024254749A1 - Information receiving method, terminal verification method and information sending method, and apparatus, device and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiments of the present disclosure disclose an information receiving method, a terminal verification method and an information sending method, and an apparatus, a device and a storage medium, which can be applied to a communication system. The information receiving method comprises: a first network element receiving a first request message sent by a first terminal, wherein the first request message comprises: group information related to the first terminal and/or a second terminal, and the group information is used for describing the condition of a terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs. By implementing the method in the present disclosure, when a terminal in a certain group needs to be selected to realize some services, the verification of the related terminal is supported.

Description

Information receiving, terminal verification, information sending method, device, equipment and storage medium Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to an information receiving, terminal verification, information sending method, device, equipment and storage medium.

Background Art

In order to support direct communication between terminals, the sidelink (SL) communication mode is introduced. A terminal can communicate with the base station through the relay function of another terminal. In some application scenarios, it is necessary to select a terminal in a group to implement some services, such as ranging or SL positioning services.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, apparatus, device, chip system, storage medium, computer program and computer program product for receiving information, verifying a terminal and sending information, which can be applied in the field of communication technology and support verification of related terminals when terminals within a group need to be selected to implement some services.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an information receiving method, which is executed by a first network element, and the method includes: receiving a first request message sent by a first terminal, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the situation of the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a terminal verification method, which is executed by a second network element, and the method includes: receiving a second request message, wherein the second request message includes: group information related to a first terminal and/or a second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the situation of the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs; verifying the first terminal and/or the second terminal according to the group information to obtain a verification result.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an information sending method, which is executed by a first terminal, and the method includes: sending a first request message to a first network element, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the situation of the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an information sending method, which is executed by a third network element or a location service client, and the method includes: sending a second request message to a second network element, wherein the second request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the situation of the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which has some or all of the functions of the network element in the above method. For example, the functions of the communication device may have some or all of the functions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, or may have the functions of implementing any one of the embodiments of the present disclosure separately. The functions can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

Optionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the structure of the communication device may include a transceiver module and a processing module, and the processing module is configured to support the communication device to perform the corresponding functions in the above method. The transceiver module is used to support communication between the communication device and other devices. The communication device may also include a storage module, which is coupled to the transceiver module and the processing module, and stores computer programs and data necessary for the communication device.

As an example, the processing module may be a processor, the transceiver module may be a transceiver or a communication interface, and the storage module may be a memory.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides another communication device, which has some or all of the functions of the terminal in the above method example, such as the functions of the communication device may have some or all of the functions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, or may have the functions of implementing any one of the embodiments of the present disclosure separately. The functions may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

Optionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the structure of the communication device may include a transceiver module and a processing module, and the processing module is configured to support the communication device to perform the corresponding functions in the above method. The transceiver module is used to support communication between the communication device and other devices. The communication device may also include a storage module, which is coupled to the transceiver module and the processing module, and stores computer programs and data necessary for the communication device.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor, and when the processor calls a computer program in a memory, the above method is executed.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor and a memory, in which a computer program is stored; the processor executes the computer program stored in the memory so that the communication device executes the above method.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor, and the processor is used to execute the code instructions so that the device executes the above-mentioned method.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions so that the communication device executes the above method.

In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication system, which includes the communication device of the sixth aspect, the communication device of the seventh aspect, or the communication device of the eighth aspect, or the communication device of the ninth aspect, or the communication device of the tenth aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing instructions used by the above-mentioned network element or terminal. When the instructions are executed, the network element or terminal executes the above-mentioned method.

In a thirteenth aspect, the present disclosure also provides a computer program product comprising a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the above method.

In a fourteenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a chip system comprising at least one processor and an interface for supporting a network element to implement the functions involved above, for example, determining or processing at least one of the data and information involved in the above method.

In a possible design, the chip system also includes a memory, which is used to store computer programs and data necessary for the network element. The chip system can be composed of chips or include chips and other discrete devices.

In a fifteenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a chip system comprising at least one processor and an interface for supporting a terminal to implement the functions involved above, for example, determining or processing at least one of the data and information involved in the above method.

In a possible design, the chip system also includes a memory, which is used to store computer programs and data necessary for the terminal. The chip system can be composed of chips or include chips and other discrete devices.

In a sixteenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer program which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the above method.

In the seventeenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a communication system, which includes a first network element, a second network element, a first terminal, and a third network element or a location service client, the first network element is used to execute the method shown in the first aspect, the second network element executes the method shown in the second aspect, the first terminal is used to execute the method shown in the third aspect, and the third network element or the location service client is used to execute the method shown in the fourth aspect.

In the eighteenth aspect, the present disclosure provides another communication system, which includes a first network element, a second network element, and a third network element or a location service client, the first network element is used to execute the method shown in the first aspect, the second network element executes the method shown in the second aspect, and the third network element or the location service client is used to execute the method shown in the fourth aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the background technology, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the background technology will be described below.

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG2 is a flow chart of an information receiving method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG3a is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a terminal verification method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG3b is a flow chart of another terminal verification method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG4 is a flow chart of another terminal verification method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG5 is a flow chart of another information sending method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG6 is a flow chart of another information sending method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG7 is a flow chart of another terminal verification method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG8 is a flow chart of another terminal verification method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The implementations described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure. Instead, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure as detailed in the appended claims.

The terms used in the disclosed embodiments are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the disclosed embodiments. The singular forms of "a", "an" and "the" used in the disclosed embodiments and the appended claims are also intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates other meanings. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used to describe various information in the disclosed embodiments, these information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the same type of information from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of the disclosed embodiments, the first information may also be referred to as the second information, and similarly, the second information may also be referred to as the first information. Depending on the context, the words "if" and "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at" or "when" or "in response to determination".

For ease of understanding, the terms involved in the present disclosure are first introduced.

1. Access and mobility management function (AMF) network element.

The AMF network element is a logical node function network element on the core network side. It is the access point of the terminal and wireless core network control plane. It receives all connection and session related information from the user equipment and performs registration, connection, reachability and mobility management. In addition, the AMF network element provides a session management message transmission channel for the terminal equipment and the session management function (SMF) equipment, and provides authentication and authorization functions for the user access.

2. Application function (AF) network element, similar to an application server, can interact with other core network control plane network functions (NF) and provide business services. AF network elements can exist for different application services and can be owned by operators or trusted third parties.

3. The network exposure function (NEF) network element is located between the core network and the external third-party application function body (possibly also some internal AF), responsible for managing all external applications that open network data to the outside world. The NEF network element provides corresponding security guarantees to ensure the security of external applications to the 3GPP network, and provides external applications with functions such as quality of service (QoS) customization capability exposure, mobility status event subscription, and AF request distribution.

4. User plane function (UPF) network elements, including routing and forwarding of user data packets, data interaction with external data networks, user plane quality of service QoS processing, flow control rule implementation (such as gating, redirection, traffic steering), etc.

5. Unified data management (UDM) network element.

The UDM network element is responsible for the management of terminal device identification, contract data, authentication data, and service network element registration management of terminal devices (such as the AMF network element that currently provides services to the terminal device. For example, when the terminal device switches the AMF network element it accesses, the UDM network element will also initiate a deregistration message to the old AMF network element, requesting the old AMF network element to delete user-related information).

6. Policy control function (PCF) network element supports a unified policy framework to manage network behavior, provides policy rules to network entities for implementation, and accesses subscription information in a unified data warehouse.

7. Unified Data Repository (UDR) network element is used by UDM network elements to store subscription data or read subscription data, and PCF network elements to store policy data or read policy data.

8. Radio Access Network (RAN) is used to control users’ wireless access to the mobile communication network.

The information receiving method, terminal verification method, and information sending method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applicable to scenarios in which a terminal within a group is selected to implement a service, such as ranging or SL positioning scenarios. Of course, they can also be applicable to any other possible scenarios without limitation.

The terminal in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be, for example, a positioning terminal, an SL reference terminal, an SL positioning server terminal, or a target terminal for ranging services and sidelink positioning, or a terminal for any other service in the telecommunications system. The terminal may specifically be, for example, a mobile phone or a tablet with mobile communication functions, a smart watch, a smart car, a vehicle networking device, etc., without limitation.

The terminals to be verified in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include, for example, all relevant terminals for ranging or sidelink SL positioning or relevant terminals in other services, without limitation thereto.

In the disclosed embodiments, ranging refers to determining the distance between two or more terminals, or the direction from one terminal to another terminal, through a PC5 interface. A PC5 interface refers to a communication interface between terminals, such as a short-distance direct communication interface between vehicles, people, and road infrastructure.

In the disclosed embodiments, SL positioning refers to estimating the position of a located terminal (the located terminal may also be referred to as a target terminal) based on SL. For example, ranging or SL positioning of the located terminal may be performed based on information of a terminal (e.g., a positioning terminal (e.g., located user equipment, located UE)), and a reference terminal may be, for example, an SL reference terminal whose position is known or can be known in ranging or SL positioning. Network-assisted sidelink positioning estimates the position of the located terminal with the help of a network by using the position of one or more positioning terminals, and the distance and/or direction between the positioning terminal and the located terminal.

In order to better understand the method disclosed in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication system to which the embodiment of the present disclosure is applicable is first described below.

Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system may include, but is not limited to, a network device and two terminals, and the terminals are connected via SL, wherein the number and form of devices shown in Figure 1 are only used for example and do not constitute a limitation on the embodiment of the present disclosure, and may include two or more network devices and two or more terminals in actual applications. The communication system shown in Figure 1 takes a network device 11 and two terminals 12 and 13 as an example, wherein the terminal 12 and the terminal 13 are connected via SL.

In the present disclosure, terminal 12 may be a transmitting end, and terminal 13 may be a peer terminal, wherein terminal 13 may be one or more, and the present disclosure does not limit this. Alternatively, terminal 13 may be a transmitting end, and terminal 12 may be a peer terminal, wherein terminal 12 may be one or more, and the present disclosure does not limit this.

It should be noted that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems, such as long term evolution (LTE) system, fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, 5G new radio (NR) system, or other future new mobile communication systems.

It should also be noted that the side link in the embodiment of the present disclosure may also be referred to as a side link or a through link.

The network device 11 in the embodiment of the present disclosure is an entity on the network side for transmitting or receiving signals. 11 may be a core network device or an access network device, a core network device, such as a location management function (LMF) network element, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a policy control function (PCF) network element, etc., an access network device, for example, may be an evolved NodeB (eNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in an NR system, a base station in other future mobile communication systems, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, etc. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device.

The terminal in the embodiments of the present disclosure is an entity on the user side for receiving or transmitting signals, such as a mobile phone. The terminal may also be referred to as a terminal, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), etc. The terminal may be a car with communication function, a smart car, a car networking device, a mobile phone, a wearable device, a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), etc. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure. A person skilled in the art can know that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to similar technical problems.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, "terminal group" and "group" may represent the same meaning and are not limited thereto.

In order to support direct communication between terminals, the sidelink (SL) communication mode is introduced. A terminal can communicate with the base station through the relay function of another terminal. In some application scenarios, it is necessary to select a terminal in a group to implement some services, such as ranging or SL positioning services.

In the related art, when it is necessary to select terminals in a certain group to implement some services, verification of the related terminals is not supported.

The terminal verification method and device provided by the present disclosure are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Figure 2 is a flow chart of an information receiving method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, and the method is executed by a first network element. The information receiving method in this embodiment can be applied in a first network element, and the first network element can be, for example, an AMF network element. Of course, the first network element can also be any other possible core network device, without limitation.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

S201: Receive a first request message sent by a first terminal, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs.

In some embodiments, the terminal may be, for example, a mobile phone or a tablet with mobile communication function, a smart watch, a smart car, an Internet of Vehicles device, etc., without limitation.

In some embodiments, the first terminal may be, for example, a terminal that executes a corresponding service to determine its information. If the service is a ranging or SL positioning service, the first terminal may be, for example, a terminal that is being ranging or SL positioned, and there is no limitation on this.

In some embodiments, the second terminal may be, for example, a terminal referenced in the process of determining the information of the first terminal. The second terminal may also be, for example, a terminal related to the first terminal in the process of executing a corresponding service. If the service is a ranging or SL positioning service, the second terminal may be, for example, a terminal referenced when performing ranging or SL positioning on the first terminal. There is no limitation on this.

In some embodiments, the first terminal may be, for example, a terminal being measured by ranging or SL positioning, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the second terminal may be, for example, a terminal whose location is known or can be known and can be used for ranging or SL positioning, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the first terminal may be, for example, a target terminal, and the second terminal may be, for example, a positioning terminal, which is not limited.

In some embodiments, the second terminal may be selected based on information of the first terminal. For example, a candidate terminal may be selected from multiple candidate terminals as the second terminal based on an identifier of the first terminal (an optional example of information of the first terminal), and there is no limitation on this.

In some embodiments, the first terminal may be, for example, a Target UE, and the number of Target UEs may be one or more, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the second terminal may be, for example, a Located UE/SL Positioning Server UE/SL Reference UE/SL Assistant UE, and the number of Located UE/SL Positioning Server UE/SL Reference UE/SL Assistant UE may be one or more, and there is no limitation on this.

In some embodiments, ranging or SL positioning of the first terminal may be performed based on the information (eg, location information) of the selected and determined second terminal, without limitation.

In some embodiments, a group refers to a group formed by several terminals, and the several terminals may share the same application layer group identifier (Identity, ID), and there is no limitation on this.

In some embodiments, the group information refers to information related to the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs, and there is no limitation to this.

In some embodiments, the group information may be information related to the terminal group to which the first terminal belongs, or the group information may be information related to the terminal group to which the second terminal belongs, or the group information may be information related to the terminal group to which the first terminal and the second terminal belong, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the group information may be used to authenticate the first terminal and/or the second terminal, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the request message sent by the first terminal to the first network element for indicating group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal may be referred to as a first request message, which is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the first terminal may send a first request message to the first network element, wherein the first request message may include: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, which is not limited.

In some embodiments, verification of the first terminal and/or the second terminal may be, for example, verification of whether group information is valid for the first terminal and/or the second terminal, for example, verification of the terminal group to which the first terminal belongs and/or the terminal group to which the second terminal belongs, whether the group information is satisfied, and the result of the verification may be used to analyze whether the service can be executed, without limitation.

In some embodiments, if the service is a ranging or SL positioning service, the first request message may be, for example, a ranging or SL positioning service request message, wherein the ranging or SL positioning service request message may include group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the ranging or SL positioning service request message may be, for example, a Ranging/SL positioning service request. The Ranging/SL positioning service request may include Located UE(s) with group information. Located UE(s) with group information may be, for example, an optional example of group information, which is not limited to this.

In some embodiments, the Target UE may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message to the AMF network element, and the AMF network element may verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal based on the group information contained in the ranging or SL positioning service request message, without any limitation.

In this embodiment, the first network element can receive a first request message sent by the first terminal, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs. Thus, when it is necessary to select a terminal within a group to implement some services, verification of the relevant terminals is supported.

In some embodiments, if the first terminal and the second terminal are verified to be valid, the corresponding service can be executed based on the selected terminal. If the first terminal or the second terminal is verified to be valid, some countermeasures can be taken to ensure that the corresponding service is effectively executed. The countermeasures may be, for example, reselecting other terminals that can meet the group information, and there is no limitation on this.

In some embodiments, the group information may include, for example, information that needs to be satisfied by the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs when selecting a terminal in a group to implement some services, and there is no limitation to this.

The terminal verification method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, the group information includes at least one of the following: first information, second information, third information, fourth information, and fifth information, wherein the first information identifies the group, the second information indicates that all second terminals must be in the group identified by the first information, the third information indicates that the first terminal and the second terminal must be in the same group, the fourth information indicates that the first terminal is not related to any group, and the fifth information indicates that the first terminal and the second terminal must be in the group identified by the first information, which can improve the effectiveness and accuracy of terminal verification.

In some embodiments, the first information can be used to identify a specified group, the second information can be used to indicate that all second terminals (the number of second terminals can be multiple, all second terminals, that is, all second terminals) can be in the specified group, the third information can be used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal can be in the same group. At this time, the group to which the first terminal and the second terminal belong can be the group specified by the first information or can not be the specified group. The fourth information can be an indication that the first terminal may not belong to any group. The fifth information can, for example, indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal can be in the group specified by the first information, and there is no limitation on this.

Figure 3a is a flow chart of a terminal verification method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, and the method is executed by a first network element. The terminal verification method in this embodiment can be applied in a first network element, and the first network element can be, for example, an AMF network element. Of course, the first network element can also be any other possible core network device, and there is no limitation on this.

As shown in FIG. 3a , the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

S301a: Receive a first request message sent by a first terminal, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs.

For the description of S301a, please refer to the above embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

S302a: Verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal according to the group information to obtain a verification result.

In this embodiment, the first network element can verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal based on the group information indicated by the first terminal, for example, whether the verification group information is valid for the first terminal, or whether the verification group information is valid for the second terminal, or whether the verification group information is valid for the first terminal and the second terminal, without any limitation.

In some embodiments, the first terminal and/or the second terminal may be verified based on the content indicated by the specific information included in the group information, and this is not limited.

In some embodiments, the verification result may be used to describe the result obtained by verifying the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the verification result may be used to determine whether a corresponding service can be executed, which is not limited.

In some embodiments, if the group information includes first information and second information, the first information identifies the group, and the second information indicates that all second terminals must be in the group identified by the first information, then it can be verified whether each second terminal is in the group identified by the first information, without any limitation.

In some embodiments, if the group information includes first information and third information, the first information identifies the group, and the third information is used to indicate that the first terminal and the second terminal can be in the same group, then it can be verified whether the first terminal and the second terminal are in the same group, without limitation.

In some embodiments, if the group information also includes other content, the first terminal and/or the second terminal may be verified according to the content actually included in the group information, and there is no limitation to this.

In some embodiments, the first network element can verify whether the group information is valid for the relevant terminals (the first terminal and/or the second terminal) by checking the data retrieved in the first request message (such as group information) and the data from the UDM network element, and verifying the subscription profile of the terminal. There is no limitation on this.

In some embodiments, the first network element may retrieve data from the UDM network element during the terminal registration process, or Alternatively, the first network element may also retrieve relevant data by calling some service operations, and there is no restriction on this.

In some embodiments, the AMF network element can verify whether the relevant terminal is in the indicated group by checking the data retrieved in the ranging or SL positioning service request message and the data from the UDM network element to verify the terminal's subscription profile, wherein the AMF network element can retrieve the data from the UDM network element during the terminal registration process, or the AMF network element can also retrieve the relevant data by calling the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation, without limitation.

In some embodiments, verification of group information may include, for example: only terminals within a specific group (which may be indicated, for example, by the first information mentioned above) can be used in a process (for example, a network-assisted sidelink positioning process), and/or the target terminal and the positioning terminal may be in the same group (which may be indicated, for example, by the third information mentioned above), and/or the target terminal is not associated with any group (which may be indicated, for example, by the fourth information mentioned above), but the positioning terminal is in a specific group (which may be indicated, for example, by the second information or the fifth information mentioned above), and there is no restriction on this.

In this embodiment, the first network element can receive a first request message sent by the first terminal, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal according to the group information to obtain a verification result. When it is necessary to select a terminal within a group to implement some services, the first network element is supported to verify the relevant terminals in a timely manner, which can effectively improve the timeliness of terminal verification.

Figure 3b is a flow chart of another terminal verification method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, which is executed by a first network element. The terminal verification method in this embodiment can be applied in a first network element, which can be, for example, an AMF network element. Of course, the first network element can also be any other possible core network device, without limitation.

As shown in FIG. 3b , the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

S301b: Receive a first request message sent by the first terminal, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs.

For the description of S301b, please refer to the above embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

S302b: Send a second request message to the second network element, wherein the second request message includes: group information, so as to trigger the second network element to verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal according to the group information to obtain a verification result.

In the disclosed embodiment, the second network element may verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal based on the group information, for example, whether the verification group information is valid for the first terminal, or whether the verification group information is valid for the second terminal, or whether the verification group information is valid for the first terminal and the second terminal, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) network element, which is not limited.

In some embodiments, the first network element may send a request message to the second network element to request the second network element to verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal. The request message may be referred to as a second request message, which is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the second request message may carry group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal to instruct the second network element to verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal based on the group information, without limitation.

In some embodiments, if the service is a ranging or SL positioning service, the second request message may also be, for example, a ranging or SL positioning service request message, wherein the ranging or SL positioning service request message may include: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the AMF network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message to the GMLC network element, and the GMLC network element may verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal based on the group information contained in the ranging or SL positioning service request message, without any limitation.

In some embodiments, the second network element can verify whether the group information is valid for the relevant terminals (the first terminal and/or the second terminal) by checking the data retrieved in the second request message (such as group information) and the data from the UDM network element, and verifying the subscription profile of the terminal. There is no limitation on this.

In some embodiments, the GMLC network element can verify whether the relevant terminal is in the indicated group by checking the data retrieved in the ranging or SL positioning service request message and the data from the UDM network element to verify the subscription profile of the terminal, wherein the GMLC network element can also retrieve the relevant data by calling the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation, without limitation. system.

S303b: Receive a response message sent by the second network element, where the response message includes: a verification result.

In some embodiments, after verifying the first terminal and/or the second terminal, the second network element may obtain a verification result, and include the verification result in a response message and feed it back to the first network element, which is not limited.

In some embodiments, the verification result may be used to describe the result obtained by the second network element verifying the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the verification result may be used to determine whether a corresponding service can be executed, which is not limited.

In some embodiments, the first network element may receive a response message sent by the second network element, which may include a verification result. The first network element may determine, based on the verification result, whether to verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the response message may be, for example, a ranging or SL positioning service response message. The ranging or SL positioning service response message may specifically be, for example, Ranging/SL positioning service response, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may respond to the AMF network element based on the result of the group information verification, without limitation.

In this embodiment, the first network element can receive a first request message sent by the first terminal, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, the group information is used to describe the situation of the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs, and send a second request message to the second network element, wherein the second request message includes: group information to trigger the second network element to verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal according to the group information to obtain a verification result, and receive a response message sent by the second network element, wherein the response message includes: verification result. Therefore, when it is necessary to select a terminal within a group to implement some services, it supports the first network element to request the second network element to verify the relevant terminals, which can effectively expand the application scenarios of terminal verification.

In the terminal verification method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first request message or the second request message is used to request the execution of a service. It is also possible to determine whether the service can be executed based on the verification result. It is possible to accurately determine whether the service can be executed to ensure that the service is executed smoothly.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a service may be equivalent to a business, for example, a positioning/distance service is equivalent to a positioning business/distance measurement business. That is, in the present disclosure, determining whether a service can be executed may be equivalent to determining whether a business can be executed.

In some embodiments, the first request message may be used to request execution of a service, or the second request message may be used to request execution of a service, where the service may be, for example, ranging or SL positioning service, and of course, may be any other possible service without limitation.

The terminal verification method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, the verification result can be used to indicate that the service cannot be executed; wherein the verification result includes at least one of the following: sixth information, seventh information, and eighth information, wherein the sixth information indicates that the group information is invalid for the first terminal, the seventh information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal and invalid for all second terminals, and the eighth information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal and invalid for some second terminals.

In some embodiments, the group information is invalid for the first terminal, for example, the first terminal is not in the group specified by the group information, or the first terminal and the second terminal are not in the same group. Of course, depending on the specific configuration of the group information, the group information may be invalid for the first terminal or may be in any other possible form, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the sixth information may be, for example, information indicating that the group information is invalid for the first terminal, which is not limited to this.

In some embodiments, the group information is valid for the first terminal, for example, the first terminal is in the group specified by the group information, or the first terminal and the second terminal are in the same group. The group information is invalid for all second terminals, for example, all second terminals are not in the specified group. Of course, depending on the specific configuration of the group information, the group information is valid for the first terminal and invalid for all second terminals, and it may be any other possible form, for example, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the seventh information may be, for example, information indicating that the group information is valid for the first terminal and invalid for all second terminals, which is not limited.

In some embodiments, the eighth information may be, for example, an indication group information valid for the first terminal and valid for some second terminals. Invalid information, no restrictions are imposed on this.

In some embodiments, if the verification result includes the sixth information and/or the seventh information and/or the eighth information mentioned above, it means that the service cannot be executed, for example, the ranging/SL positioning service cannot be continued, and there is no limitation on this.

In the terminal verification method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, the verification result can also be used to indicate an executable service; wherein the verification result includes at least one of the following: sixth information, seventh information, and eighth information, wherein the sixth information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal; the seventh information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal and is valid for at least some of the second terminals; the eighth information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal, is invalid for all second terminals, and is valid for a newly activated second terminal.

In some embodiments, the group information is valid for the first terminal, and it may be, for example, that the first terminal is in the group specified by the group information, or it may be, for example, that the first terminal and the second terminal are in the same group. Of course, depending on the specific configuration of the group information, the group information may be valid for the first terminal and may be, for example, in any other possible form, and there is no limitation on this.

In some embodiments, the group information is valid for at least some of the second terminals, for example, at least some of the second terminals are in the same group as the first terminal, or at least some of the second terminals are in a specified group. Of course, depending on the specific configuration of the group information, the group information may be valid for at least some of the second terminals and may be in any other possible form, for example, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the group information is invalid for all second terminals, for example, all second terminals are not in the same group as the first terminal, or all second terminals are not in a specified group. Of course, depending on the specific configuration of the group information, the group information may be invalid for all second terminals or may be in any other possible form, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the group information is valid for the activated new second terminal, and it may be, for example, that the activated new second terminal is in a specified group, or that the activated new second terminal and the first terminal are in the same group. Of course, according to the specific configuration of the group information, the group information is valid for the activated new second terminal, and it may also be, for example, any other possible form, and there is no limitation on this.

In some embodiments, the sixth information may also be, for example, information indicating that the group information is valid for the first terminal, the seventh information may also be, for example, information indicating that the group information is valid for the first terminal and valid for at least some of the second terminals, and the eighth information may also be, for example, information indicating that the group information is valid for the first terminal, invalid for all second terminals, and valid for newly activated second terminals, without limitation.

In some embodiments, taking the service as a ranging or SL positioning service, the first terminal as a target terminal, and the second terminal as a positioning terminal as an example, a corresponding process may be performed according to the verification result of the group information, which may include one of the following situations:

(1) If the group information is invalid for the target terminal, the network-assisted sidelink positioning process is stopped and a failure response is sent to the target terminal;

(2) If the group information is valid for the target terminal and the group information is invalid for all positioning terminals, a failure response may be sent to stop the sidelink positioning process, or the LMF network element may be required to find other suitable terminals to meet the positioning request of the target terminal, such as activating some terminals that meet the group requirements to perform the positioning procedure;

(3) If the group information is valid for the target terminal, but invalid for some of the positioning terminals, the sidelink positioning process can continue (valid terminals can be used in this process);

(4) If the group information is valid for both the target terminal and the positioning terminal, the sidelink positioning process can continue.

It should be noted that, for the description of the terms and method steps in the following embodiments that are the same as or corresponding to the above embodiments, specific reference can be made to the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart of another terminal verification method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, which is executed by a second network element. The terminal verification method in this embodiment can be applied in a second network element, which can be, for example, a GMLC network element. Of course, the second network element can also be any other possible core network device, without limitation.

As shown in FIG4 , the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

S401: Receive a second request message, wherein the second request message includes: group information related to a first terminal and/or a second terminal, and the group information is used to describe a terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs.

In some embodiments, the second network element may receive the second request message, and according to the group information in the second request message, Verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal, for example, verify whether the verification group information is valid for the first terminal, or verify whether the verification group information is valid for the second terminal, or verify whether the verification group information is valid for the first terminal and the second terminal, without limitation.

S402: Verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal according to the group information to obtain a verification result.

In some embodiments, the second network element can verify whether the group information is valid for the relevant terminals (the first terminal and/or the second terminal) by checking the data retrieved in the second request message (such as group information) and the data from the UDM network element, and verifying the subscription profile of the terminal. There is no limitation on this.

In some embodiments, the GMLC network element can verify whether the relevant terminal is in the indicated group by checking the data retrieved in the ranging or SL positioning service request message and the data from the UDM network element to verify the terminal's subscription profile, wherein the GMLC network element can also retrieve the relevant data by calling the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the verification result may be used to describe the result obtained by the second network element verifying the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the verification result may be used to determine whether a corresponding service can be executed, which is not limited.

In this embodiment, the second network element can receive a second request message, wherein the second request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and verifies the first terminal and/or the second terminal according to the group information to obtain a verification result. Thus, when it is necessary to select a terminal within a certain group to implement some services, it supports the first network element to request the second network element to verify the relevant terminals, which can effectively expand the application scenarios of terminal verification.

The terminal verification method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, receiving the second request message, may include any one of the following: receiving the second request message sent by the first network element; receiving the second request message sent by the third network element; receiving the second request message sent by the location service client, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the second network element may receive the second request message sent by the first network element, which is not limited.

In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may receive a second request message sent by the AMF network element, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the second network element may also receive a second request message sent by a third network element, and the third network element may be, for example, an AF network element or a NEF network element, which is not limited.

In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may receive the second request message sent by the AF network element or the NEF network element, and there is no limitation on this.

In some embodiments, the second network element may also receive a second request message sent by a location services client (Location Services Client, LCS Client), without any restriction.

In some embodiments, the GMLC network element can receive a second request message sent by the LCS Client, without any restriction.

5 is a flow chart of another information sending method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, and the method is executed by a first terminal. The information sending method in this embodiment can be applied to a first terminal, and the first terminal can be, for example, a terminal that executes a corresponding service to determine its information. If the service is a ranging or SL positioning service, the first terminal can be, for example, a terminal that is ranging or SL positioned (can be, for example, a target terminal), and there is no limitation on this.

As shown in FIG5 , the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

S501: Send a first request message to a first network element, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to a first terminal and/or a second terminal, and the group information is used to describe a terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs.

In some embodiments, the first terminal may send a request message to the first network element to trigger the first network element to verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal according to the group information, which is not limited.

In some embodiments, the target terminal can send a first request message to the AMF network element and carry the group information in the first request message to trigger the AMF network element to verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal according to the group information. There is no limitation on this.

In this embodiment, the first terminal sends a first request message to the first network element, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, the group information is used to describe the situation of the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs, thereby supporting verification of the related terminals when a terminal in a group needs to be selected to implement some services. certificate.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of another information sending method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, which is executed by a third network element or a location service client. The information sending method in this embodiment can be applied in a third network element or a location service client, and the third network element can be, for example, an AF network element or a NEF network element, which is not limited.

As shown in FIG6 , the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

S601: Send a second request message to a second network element, wherein the second request message includes: group information related to a first terminal and/or a second terminal, and the group information is used to describe a terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs.

In some embodiments, a third network element or a location service client may send a second request message to a second network element. The second request message may include group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal to instruct the second network element to verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal based on the group information. There is no limitation on this.

In some embodiments, if the service is a ranging or SL positioning service, the second request message may also be, for example, a ranging or SL positioning service request message, wherein the ranging or SL positioning service request message may include: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the AF network element, the NEF network element, or the LCS Client may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message to the GMLC network element, and the GMLC network element may verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal based on the group information contained in the ranging or SL positioning service request message, without any limitation.

In this embodiment, the third network element or the location service client can send a second request message to the second network element, wherein the second request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs. Thus, when it is necessary to select a terminal within a group to implement some services, verification of the relevant terminals is supported.

In the following embodiments, it can be applied to a scenario where a terminal in a certain group is selected to implement ranging or SL positioning, and there is no limitation to this.

Figure 7 is a flow chart of another terminal verification method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, which shows a schematic diagram of interaction between a first terminal and a first network element, and takes the first terminal as Target UE1 and the first network element as an AMF network element as an example. In the interaction process, Located UE2, Located UE3, Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN), LMF network element, GMLC network element, and UDM network element/UDR network element may be involved. Located UE2 and Located UE3 may be, for example, an optional example of a second terminal, and the GMLC network element is an optional example of a second network element, and there is no limitation on this.

This embodiment can be applied in a network-assisted sidelink positioning process, assuming that a ranging or SL positioning process is performed according to a terminal related to a specific group determined, and a terminal group for ranging or SL positioning services is maintained in the network, for example, stored in a UDR network element/UDM network element, and the relevant group identifier (ID) is associated with the terminal subscription data and stored as part of the terminal subscription data. For network-assisted sidelink positioning, the group information can be considered to select the positioning terminal. The positioning terminal discovery process can be applied to situations where a non-access stratum (NAS) connection between a target terminal (an optional example of a first terminal) and a network is available or unavailable.

In this embodiment, the positioning process may be triggered by the terminal.

As shown in FIG. 7 , the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

Step 0. Service authorization policy/parameter issuance.

In some embodiments, service authorization policy/parameter provisioning may be, for example, Service authurization policy/parameter provisioning, without limitation.

In some embodiments, service authorization policies/parameters may be provided to Target UE1 and potentially one or more positioning terminals (e.g., Located UE2 and/or Located UE3), without limitation.

In some embodiments, it can be assumed that group members discover relevant group information through application layer or network configuration, and the relevant group information can be stored in the network, for example, in a UDR network element/UDM network element, and the relevant group identifier (ID) is associated with the terminal subscription data and stored as part of the terminal subscription data.

Step 1. Discover and locate the terminal.

In some embodiments, the location terminal may be discovered, for example, Located UE Discovery, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the positioning terminal is an optional example of the second terminal, which is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, Target UE1 may discover Located UE2 and Located UE3, and there is no limitation on this.

In some embodiments, Target UE1 may perform group member discovery and obtain one or more located candidate terminals within a specific group, without limitation.

Step 2. Send a ranging or SL positioning service request message (including group information related to the positioning terminal).

In some embodiments, Target UE1 may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message to the network side. The ranging or SL positioning service request message may include information of Target UE1, group information related to the positioning terminal, etc., without any restriction.

Step 3a. Call the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation.

Step 3b. Verify whether the group information is valid on the relevant terminals.

In some embodiments, the related terminal may be, for example, the first terminal, or the second terminal, or the first terminal and the second terminal, or the related terminal may also be any other possible terminal, which is not limited.

In the above steps 3a and 3b, the AMF network element can verify whether the relevant terminal is in the indicated group by checking the data retrieved in the ranging or SL positioning service request message and the data from the UDM network element, and verifying the terminal's subscription profile. The AMF network element can retrieve the data from the UDM network element during the terminal registration process, or the AMF network element can retrieve the relevant data by calling the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation, and there is no restriction on this.

In some embodiments, verification of group information may include: only terminals within a specific group can be used in a process (e.g., a network-assisted sidelink positioning process), and/or the target terminal and the positioning terminal should be in the same group, and/or the target terminal is not associated with any group, but the positioning terminal is in a specific group, without restriction.

As an alternative to the above-mentioned steps 3a and 3b, the following steps 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d may also be executed, with the AMF network element requesting the GMLC network element to perform verification.

Step 4a. Send ranging or SL positioning service request message (including target terminal information and group information).

In some embodiments, the AMF network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message to the GMLC network element. The ranging or SL positioning service request message may include information and group information of the target terminal, and there is no limitation on this.

Step 4b. Call the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation.

In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may retrieve relevant data by calling the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation. If the GMLC network element already has relevant data, step 4b may be skipped without limitation.

Step 4c. Verify whether the group information is valid on the relevant terminal.

In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may verify whether the group information is valid on the relevant terminal, without limitation.

Step 4d. Send ranging or SL positioning service response message.

In some embodiments, the ranging or SL positioning service response message may be, for example, Ranging/SL positioning service response, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may respond to the AMF network element based on the result of the group information verification, without limitation.

In some embodiments, a corresponding process may be performed according to the verification result of the group information, which may include one of the following situations:

(1) If the group information is invalid for the target terminal, the network-assisted sidelink positioning process is stopped and a failure response is sent to the target terminal;

(2) If the group information is valid for the target terminal and the group information is invalid for all positioning terminals, the network-assisted sidelink positioning process may be stopped and a failure response may be sent to the target terminal, or the LMF network element may be required to find other suitable terminals to meet the positioning request of the target terminal, such as activating some terminals that meet the group requirements to perform the positioning procedure;

(3) If the group information is valid for the target terminal, but invalid for some positioning terminals, network assistance can be continued. Assisting the sidelink positioning process (valid terminals can be used during this process);

(4) If the group information is valid for both the target terminal and the positioning terminal, the network-assisted sidelink positioning process can continue.

Step 5. Perform ranging/SL positioning and other processes of positioning terminal positioning.

In some embodiments, when the verification result information of the group information indicates that ranging or SL positioning can be performed, other SL positioning procedures can be performed between the GMLC network element, AMF network element, LMF network element, and Target UE1 and Located UE(s), without any restriction.

In some embodiments, ranging/SL positioning can be performed between Target UE1 and Located UE(s) to measure and calculate results and retrieve the position of the selected positioning terminal, without limitation.

Step 6. Determine the target terminal location.

In some embodiments, the target terminal location is determined, for example, Target UE Location Determination, without limitation.

In some embodiments, the location of the target terminal may be determined based on the ranging/SL positioning assistance data and the location of the positioning terminal, which is not limited.

Step 7. Send ranging/SL positioning service response message (including the location of the target terminal).

In some embodiments, the ranging/SL positioning service response message may be, for example, a Ranging/SL positioning service response, and the Ranging/SL positioning service response may include a Target UE Location (Target UE Location is an optional example of the location of the target terminal), without any limitation.

Figure 8 is a flow chart of another terminal verification method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, which shows an interaction diagram between the second network element and the third network element or the location service client, and takes the first terminal as Target UE1 and the first network element as AMF network element as an example. In the interaction process, Located UE2, Located UE3, NG-RAN, LMF network element, GMLC network element, UDM network element/UDR network element, AF network element, NEF network element, external client (External Client, such as LCS Client) may be involved, and there is no limitation on this.

Among them, Located UE2 and Located UE3 can be, for example, an optional example of the second terminal, the GMLC network element is an optional example of the second network element, the AF network element and NEF network element can be an optional example of the third network element, and the external client can be, for example, an optional example of a location service client, and there is no limitation on this.

This embodiment can be applied to the ranging/SL positioning service open program authorized to the SL positioning client terminal, the fifth generation mobile communication technology core network function (5GC NF), and the AF network element to obtain the relative distance/direction between two terminals capable of ranging/SL positioning, or to obtain the absolute position of the target terminal. In this process, verification of group information of related terminals (for example, reference terminals and/or auxiliary terminals) can be applied.

In this embodiment, it can be assumed that the ranging/SL positioning process is performed according to the terminal determined to be related to a specific group, and the terminal group of the ranging/SL positioning service is maintained in the network, for example, stored in the UDR network element/UDM network element, and the relevant group identifier (ID) is associated with the terminal subscription data and stored as part of the terminal subscription data, without any restriction.

As shown in FIG8 , the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

Step 0. Service authorization policy/parameter issuance.

In some embodiments, service authorization policy/parameter provisioning may be, for example, Service authurization policy/parameter provisioning, without limitation.

In some embodiments, service authorization policies/parameters may be provided to Target UE1 and potentially one or more positioning terminals (e.g., Located UE2 and/or Located UE3), without limitation.

In some embodiments, it can be assumed that group members discover relevant group information through application layer or network configuration, and the relevant group information can be stored in the network, for example, in a UDR network element/UDM network element, and the relevant group identifier (ID) is associated with the terminal subscription data and stored as part of the terminal subscription data.

Step 1a. Send ranging or SL positioning service request message (including target terminal information and group information).

In some embodiments, the AF network element or the AF network element may send the measurement information to the GMLC network element via the NEF network element. There is no restriction on the distance or SL positioning service request message.

Step 1b. Send ranging or SL positioning service request message (including target terminal information and group information).

In some embodiments, an external client may send a ranging or SL positioning service request message to a GMLC network element, without limitation.

In the above steps 1a and 1b, the LCS client or the AF network element (may be through the NEF network element) sends a ranging/SL positioning service request for determining the location of the target terminal to the GMLC network element. The ranging/SL positioning service request may include group information to indicate that only terminals in a specific group can be used in the process, and the group information may include a specific group identifier (ID), and/or indicate that the terminal used for the process may be in a specific group, and/or the target terminal may be unrelated to any group, without limitation.

Step 2. Call the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation.

In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may retrieve relevant data by calling the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation. If the GMLC network element already has relevant data, step 2 may be skipped without any restriction.

Step 3. Verify that the group information is valid on the relevant terminals.

In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may verify whether the group information is valid on the relevant terminal, without limitation.

In some embodiments, a corresponding process may be performed according to the verification result of the group information, which may include one of the following situations:

(1) If the group information is invalid for the target terminal, the network-assisted sidelink positioning process is stopped and a failure response is sent to the target terminal;

(2) If the group information is valid for the target terminal and the group information is invalid for all positioning terminals, a failure response may be sent to stop the sidelink positioning process, or the LMF network element may be required to find other suitable terminals to meet the positioning request of the target terminal, such as activating some terminals that meet the group requirements to perform the positioning procedure;

(3) If the group information is valid for the target terminal, but invalid for some of the positioning terminals, the sidelink positioning process can continue (valid terminals can be used in this process);

(4) If the group information is valid for both the target terminal and the positioning terminal, the sidelink positioning process can continue.

Step 4. Send ranging or SL positioning service request message (including information of the target terminal, reference terminal, and auxiliary terminal).

Step 5. Perform other processes of ranging/SL positioning service.

In some embodiments, when the verification result information of the group information indicates that ranging or SL positioning can be performed, other SL positioning procedures can be performed between the GMLC network element, AMF network element, LMF network element, and Target UE1 and Located UE(s), without any restriction.

In some embodiments, if an auxiliary terminal is used, the auxiliary terminal may also have relevant group information, which is not limited.

Step 6. Determine the location of the target terminal.

Step 7. Send ranging or SL positioning service response message (including the location of the target terminal).

In some embodiments, the AMF network element/LMF network element can send a ranging or SL positioning service response message (including the location of the target terminal) to the GMLC network element, without any limitation.

Step 8. Send ranging or SL positioning service response message (including the location of the target terminal).

In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service response message (including the location of the target terminal) to the AF network element or to the AF network element through the NEF network element, without limitation.

Step 9. Send ranging or SL positioning service response message (including the location of the target terminal).

In some embodiments, the GMLC network element may send a ranging or SL positioning service response message (including the location of the target terminal) to an external client, without limitation.

In some embodiments, ranging/positioning services may be performed based on a reference terminal and/or an auxiliary terminal and/or a server terminal.

In some embodiments, if ranging/positioning services are performed based on a reference terminal and/or an auxiliary terminal and/or a server terminal, verification of the relevant terminals may also be performed according to the methods provided above.

In some embodiments, for the process of exposing ranging/SL positioning services through the 5GC network, the reference terminal and/or auxiliary terminal and/or server terminal can also be verified based on the group information.

In some embodiments, for the process of exposing ranging/SL positioning services through the 5GC network, the reference terminal and/or auxiliary terminal and/or server terminal can also be verified based on the group information.

In some embodiments, for the process of conducting business through the 5GC network, the relevant terminals can also be verified based on the group information.

In the disclosed embodiment, while selecting to support terminals in a specific group to provide corresponding services, verification of related terminals can be achieved.

FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 90 shown in FIG9 may include a transceiver module 901 and a processing module 902. The transceiver module 901 may include a sending module and/or a receiving module, the sending module is used to implement a sending function, the receiving module is used to implement a receiving function, and the transceiver module 901 may implement a sending function and/or a receiving function.

The communication device 90 can be a network element (such as the first network element, the second network element, and the third network element in the aforementioned method embodiment), or it can be a device in a network element, or it can be a device that can be used in combination with a network element, or the communication device 90 can be a terminal, or it can be a device in a terminal, or it can be a device that can be used in combination with a terminal.

The communication device 90, at the first network element side, includes:

The transceiver module 901 is used to receive a first request message sent by a first terminal, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs.

The communication device 90, at the second network element side, includes:

The transceiver module 901 is used to receive a second request message, wherein the second request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs.

The processing module 902 is used to verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal according to the group information to obtain a verification result.

The communication device 90, at the third network element side, includes:

The transceiver module 901 is used to send a second request message to the second network element, wherein the second request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs.

The communication device 90, at the first terminal or the location service client side, includes:

The transceiver module 901 is used to send a second request message to the second network element, wherein the second request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs.

FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 100 may be a network element (such as the first network element, the second network element, and the third network element in the aforementioned method embodiment), or may be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the network element to implement the aforementioned method. The communication device 100 may be a terminal, or may be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the terminal to implement the aforementioned method. The device may be used to implement the method described in the aforementioned method embodiment, and may refer to the description in the aforementioned method embodiment for details.

The communication device 100 may include one or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, etc. For example, it may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process the communication protocol and communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute a computer program, and process the data of the computer program.

Optionally, the communication device 100 may further include one or more memories 1002, on which a computer program 1004 may be stored, the processor 1001 may store a computer program 1003, and the processor 1001 executes the computer program 1004 and/or Or computer program 1003, so that the communication device 100 executes the method described in the above method embodiment.

Optionally, data may also be stored in the memory 1002. The communication device 100 and the memory 1002 may be provided separately or integrated together.

Optionally, the communication device 100 may further include a transceiver 1005 and an antenna 1006. The transceiver 1005 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit, etc., for implementing a transceiver function. The transceiver 1005 may include a receiver and a transmitter, the receiver may be referred to as a receiver or a receiving circuit, etc., for implementing a receiving function; the transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, etc., for implementing a transmitting function.

Optionally, the communication device 100 may further include one or more interface circuits 1007. The interface circuit 1007 is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor 1001. The processor 1001 executes the code instructions to enable the communication device 100 to execute the method described in the above method embodiment.

In one implementation, the processor 1001 may include a transceiver for implementing receiving and sending functions. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit for implementing the receiving and sending functions may be separate or integrated. The above-mentioned transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for reading and writing code/data, or the above-mentioned transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for transmitting or delivering signals.

In one implementation, the processor 1001 may store a computer program 1003, which runs on the processor 1001 and enables the communication device 100 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment. The computer program 1003 may be fixed in the processor 1001, in which case the processor 1001 may be implemented by hardware.

In one implementation, the communication device 100 may include a circuit that can implement the functions of sending or receiving or communicating in the aforementioned method embodiments. The processor and transceiver described in the present disclosure may be implemented in an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit RFIC, a mixed signal IC, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, etc. The processor and transceiver may also be manufactured using various IC process technologies, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), N-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS), P-type metal oxide semiconductor (positive channel metal oxide semiconductor, PMOS), bipolar junction transistor (BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc.

The communication device described in the above embodiments may be a network element (such as the first network element, the second network element, and the third network element in the aforementioned method embodiment) or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device may not be limited by FIG. 10. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be:

(1) Independent integrated circuit IC, or chip, or chip system or subsystem;

(2) having a set of one or more ICs, and optionally, the IC set may also include a storage component for storing data and computer programs;

(3) ASIC, such as modem;

(4) Modules that can be embedded in other devices;

(5) Receivers, terminal devices, intelligent terminal devices, cellular phones, wireless devices, handheld devices, mobile units, vehicle-mounted devices, network devices, cloud devices, artificial intelligence devices, etc.;

(6)Others

For the case where the communication device may be a chip or a chip system, please refer to Figure 11, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The chip shown in Figure 11 includes a processor 1101 and an interface 1102. The number of processors 1101 may be one or more, and the number of interfaces 1102 may be multiple.

For the case where the chip is used to implement the functions of the network element in the embodiments of the present disclosure:

Processor 1101 is used to implement various steps related to network elements in Figures 2 to 8 above.

For the case where the chip is used to implement the functions of the terminal in the embodiments of the present disclosure:

The processor 1101 is used to implement the various steps related to the terminal in the above-mentioned Figures 2 to 8.

Optionally, the chip further includes a memory 1103, and the memory 1103 is used to store necessary computer programs and data.

Those skilled in the art may also understand that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps listed in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of the two. Whether such functions are implemented by hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design requirements of the entire system. Those skilled in the art may use various methods to implement the functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be understood as exceeding the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a communication system, which includes: the communication device as a network element in the aforementioned embodiment, or the system includes the communication device as a network element in the aforementioned embodiment of Figure 9 or Figure 10, and the communication device as a terminal in the aforementioned embodiment, or the communication device as a terminal in the aforementioned embodiment of Figure 9 or Figure 10.

The present disclosure also provides a readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

The present disclosure also provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program can be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website site, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

Those skilled in the art can understand that the various numerical numbers such as first and second involved in the present disclosure are only used for distinction for convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and also indicate the order of precedence.

At least one in the present disclosure may also be described as one or more, and a plurality may be two, three, four or more, which is not limited in the present disclosure. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, for a technical feature, the technical features in the technical feature are distinguished by "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", "C" and "D", etc., and there is no order of precedence or size between the technical features described by the "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", "C" and "D".

The corresponding relationships shown in the tables in the present disclosure can be configured or predefined. The values of the information in each table are only examples and can be configured as other values, which are not limited by the present disclosure. When configuring the corresponding relationship between the information and each parameter, it is not necessarily required to configure all the corresponding relationships illustrated in each table. For example, in the table in the present disclosure, the corresponding relationships shown in some rows may not be configured. For another example, appropriate deformation adjustments can be made based on the above table, such as splitting, merging, etc. The names of the parameters shown in the titles of the above tables can also use other names that can be understood by the communication device, and the values or representations of the parameters can also be other values or representations that can be understood by the communication device. When implementing the above tables, other data structures can also be used, such as arrays, queues, containers, stacks, linear lists, pointers, linked lists, trees, graphs, structures, classes, heaps, hash tables or hash tables.

The predefined in the present disclosure may be understood as defined, predefined, stored, pre-stored, pre-negotiated, pre-configured, solidified, or pre-burned.

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

In each embodiment of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and/or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment according to their internal logical relationships.

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

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "a", "an", "the", "above", "said", "aforementioned", "this", etc., may mean "one and only one", or "one or more", "at least one", etc. For example, when using articles such as "a", "an", "the" in English in translation, the noun after the article may be understood as a singular expression or a plural expression.

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

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

In some embodiments, "at least one of A and B", "A and/or B", "A in one case, B in another case", "in response to one case A, in response to another case B", etc., may include the following technical solutions according to the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); in some embodiments, A and B (both A and B are executed). When there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc., the above is also similar.

In some embodiments, the recording method of "A or B" may include the following technical solutions according to the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). When there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc., the above is also similar.

The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects, and do not constitute restrictions on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. The statement of the description object refers to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and should not constitute unnecessary restrictions due to the use of prefixes. For example, if the description object is a "field", the ordinal number before the "field" in the "first field" and the "second field" does not limit the position or order between the "fields", and the "first" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they limit the order of the "first field" and the "second field". For another example, if the description object is a "level", the ordinal number before the "level" in the "first level" and the "second level" does not limit the priority between the "levels". For another example, the number of description objects is not limited by the ordinal number, and can be one or more. Taking the "first device" as an example, the number of "devices" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefixes may be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device", then the "first device" and the "second device" may be the same device or different devices, and their types may be the same or different. For another example, if the description object is "information", then the "first information" and the "second information" may be the same information or different information, and their contents may be the same or different.

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

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

In some embodiments, the terms "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not less than", "above", etc. can be used interchangeably, and "less than", "less than or equal to" and "above" can be used interchangeably. The terms "greater than", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "no more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", and "below" are interchangeable.

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

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

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

In some embodiments, determining can be interpreted as judging, deciding, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, searching, looking up, searching, inquiring, ascertaining, receiving, transmitting, inputting, outputting, accessing, resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, “assuming,” “expecting,” “considering,” broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, assigning, etc., but is not limited to the foregoing.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this disclosure.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

The above is only a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure, which should be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (24)

An information receiving method, characterized in that it is executed by a first network element, and the method comprises: A first request message sent by a first terminal is received, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe a terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs. The method according to claim 1, wherein the group information includes at least one of the following: first information, wherein the first information identifies a group; second information, wherein the second information indicates that all second terminals must be in the group identified by the first information; third information, wherein the third information indicates that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the same group; fourth information, wherein the fourth information indicates that the first terminal is not associated with any group; Fifth information, wherein the fifth information indicates that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the group identified by the first information. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the method further comprises: The first terminal and/or the second terminal is verified according to the group information to obtain a verification result. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the method further comprises: Sending a second request message to the second network element, wherein the second request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, so as to trigger the second network element to verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal according to the group information to obtain a verification result; Receive a response message sent by the second network element, wherein the response message includes: the verification result. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 4, characterized in that the first request message or the second request message is used to request execution of a service; the method further comprises: Based on the verification result, it is determined whether the service can be executed. The method according to claim 5, wherein the verification result is used to indicate that the service cannot be executed; wherein the verification result includes at least one of the following: Sixth information, wherein the sixth information indicates that the group information is invalid for the first terminal; seventh information, wherein the seventh information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal and is invalid for all second terminals; The eighth information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal and is invalid for some second terminals. The method according to claim 5, wherein the verification result is used to indicate that the service can be executed; wherein the verification result includes at least one of the following: Sixth information, wherein the sixth information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal; seventh information, wherein the seventh information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal and is valid for at least some of the second terminals; The eighth information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal, invalid for all second terminals, and valid for a newly activated second terminal. A terminal verification method, characterized in that it is performed by a second network element, and the method comprises: receiving a second request message, wherein the second request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, the group information being used to describe a terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs; The first terminal and/or the second terminal is verified according to the group information to obtain a verification result. The method according to claim 8, wherein the group information includes at least one of the following: first information, wherein the first information identifies a group; second information, wherein the second information indicates that all second terminals must be in the group identified by the first information; third information, wherein the third information indicates that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the same group; fourth information, wherein the fourth information indicates that the first terminal is not associated with any group; Fifth information, wherein the fifth information indicates that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the group identified by the first information. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 9, wherein receiving the second request message comprises any one of the following: Receiving a second request message sent by the first network element; receiving a second request message sent by a third network element; A second request message sent by the location service client is received. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the second request message is used to request execution of a service; the method further comprises: Based on the verification result, it is determined whether the service can be executed. The method of claim 11, wherein the verification result is used to indicate that the service cannot be executed; wherein the verification result includes at least one of the following: Sixth information, wherein the sixth information indicates that the group information is invalid for the first terminal; seventh information, wherein the seventh information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal and is invalid for all second terminals; The eighth information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal and is invalid for some second terminals. The method according to claim 11, wherein the verification result is used to indicate that the service can be executed; wherein the verification result includes at least one of the following: Sixth information, wherein the sixth information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal; seventh information, wherein the seventh information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal and is valid for at least some of the second terminals; The eighth information indicates that the group information is valid for the first terminal, invalid for all second terminals, and valid for a newly activated second terminal. A method for sending information, characterized in that it is executed by a first terminal, and the method comprises: A first request message is sent to a first network element, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe a terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs. The method according to claim 14, wherein the group information includes at least one of the following: first information, wherein the first information identifies a group; second information, wherein the second information indicates that all second terminals must be in the group identified by the first information; third information, wherein the third information indicates that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the same group; fourth information, wherein the fourth information indicates that the first terminal is not associated with any group; Fifth information, wherein the fifth information indicates that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the group identified by the first information. An information sending method, characterized in that it is executed by a third network element or a location service client, and the method comprises: A second request message is sent to the second network element, wherein the second request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs. The method according to claim 16, wherein the group information includes at least one of the following: first information, wherein the first information identifies a group; second information, wherein the second information indicates that all second terminals must be in the group identified by the first information; third information, wherein the third information indicates that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the same group; fourth information, wherein the fourth information indicates that the first terminal is not associated with any group; Fifth information, wherein the fifth information indicates that the first terminal and the second terminal need to be in the group identified by the first information. A communication device, characterized in that the device comprises: The transceiver module is used to receive a first request message sent by a first terminal, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs. A communication device, characterized in that the device comprises: a transceiver module, configured to receive a second request message, wherein the second request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, the group information being used to describe a terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs; A processing module is used to verify the first terminal and/or the second terminal according to the group information to obtain a verification result. A communication device, characterized in that the device comprises: The transceiver module is used to send a first request message to the first network element, wherein the first request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs. A communication device, characterized in that the device comprises: The transceiver module is used to send a second request message to the second network element, wherein the second request message includes: group information related to the first terminal and/or the second terminal, and the group information is used to describe the terminal group to which the first terminal and/or the second terminal belongs. A communication device, comprising: One or more processors; The processor is used to call instructions so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17. A computer-readable storage medium is used to store instructions, and when the instructions are executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 is implemented. A communication system, comprising a first network element, a second network element, a first terminal and a third network element or a location service client, wherein the first network element is used to execute the method shown in any one of claims 1 to 7, the second network element executes the method shown in any one of claims 8 to 13, the first terminal is used to execute the method shown in any one of claims 14 to 15, and the third network element or the location service client is used to execute the method shown in any one of claims 16 to 17.