Signaling Support Enabling QoS Discrimination for Positioning, Location and Location-Based Services in LTE

• US 20110159893A1
• Filed: 12/28/2010
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Siomina, Iana, Wigren, Torbjörn
• Granted Patent: US 8,768,289 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/16 Central resource management; Negotiation of resources or communication parameters, e.g. negotiating bandwidth or QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel

Abstract

One aspect of the present invention extends the number of client and/or service types used in location-based services. The extension provides richer definitions for use in selecting the optimal or otherwise best suited positioning sequences to be used in fulfilling given positioning requests. For example, some types of commercial-related positioning requests are better satisfied with quicker-but-lower-accuracy position determinations, while other types benefit from more-accurate-but-slower position determinations. These and other benefits are provided by extending the type definitions used to identify commercial positioning requests. For example, a UE may be configured to send positioning requests that indicate the extended client or service types. As another example, the network node(s) involved in generating or processing such requests are configured to understand the extended type definitions and/or to map the extended definitions to QoS requirements, or to particular positioning sequences, for requesting that a positioning node carry out that particular positioning sequence.

Claims

1. A method of providing positioning services in a wireless communication network that includes a positioning node that is configured to provide positioning information for a user equipment (UE) according to a selected positioning sequence, wherein different positioning sequences available at the positioning node offer different positioning response times or Quality-of-Service, wherein said method comprises:

maintaining at a node in the wireless communication network an extended set of client types or service types corresponding to a plurality of different types of commercial location-based services, wherein the different types of commercial location-based services are distinguished in terms of their location QoS criteria;

receiving a positioning request at said node for locating a user equipment (UE);

mapping the positioning request to one of the extended client or service types corresponding to the particular type of commercial location-based service associated with the positioning request; and

signaling at least one of the following in a positioning request to the positioning node;

the extended client or service type;

location QoS criteria that is mapped by the node to the extended client or service type;

or a specific positioning sequence that is mapped by the node to the extended client or service type.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication network comprises an LTE network, an LTE-Advanced network, or a UMTS network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein maintaining the extended set of client types or service types comprises maintaining a set of client types, each corresponding to a different type or category of commercial location service, and further maintaining information for each client type that indicates, as said location QoS criteria, at least one of the following for the client type:

(a) location QoS requirements that are associated with the client type; and

(b) an order of precedence for QoS parameters that is associated with the client type.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said mapping of the positioning request comprises evaluating the positioning request and matching it with one of the client types or service types in the extended set, and correspondingly generating one or more information elements to be included in the signaling for the positioning node so that said signaling indicates the location QoS criteria that are associated with the matching client type or service type.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said mapping of the positioning request comprises evaluating one or more data items received in or associated with the positioning request, to determine which client or service type from the extended set of client or service types best complements the positioning request.

6. A node for use in a wireless communication network that provides positioning services and includes a positioning node that is configured to provide positioning information for a user equipment (UE) according to a selected positioning sequence, wherein different positioning sequences available at the positioning node offer different positioning response times or Quality-of-Service, wherein said node comprises:

memory for maintaining an extended set of client types or service types corresponding to a plurality of different types of commercial location-based services, wherein the different types of commercial location-based services are distinguished in terms of their location QoS criteria;

a communication interface for receiving a positioning request at said node for locating a user equipment (UE);

one or more processing circuits configured to;

map the positioning request to one of the extended client or service types corresponding to the particular type of commercial location-based service associated with the positioning request; and

signal at least one of the following in a positioning request to the positioning node;

the extended client or service type;

location QoS criteria that is mapped by the node to the extended client or service type;

or a specific positioning sequence that is mapped by the node to the extended client or service type.

7. The node of claim 6, wherein the wireless communication network comprises an LTE network, an LTE-Advanced network, or a UMTS network.

8. The node of claim 6, wherein the node is configured to maintain the extended set of client types or service types by maintaining a set of client types in said memory, each client type corresponding to a different type or category of commercial location service, and further by maintaining information, as said location QoS criteria, for each client type that indicates at least one of the following for each client type:

(a) the location QoS requirements that are associated with the client type; and

(b) the order of precedence for QoS parameters that is associated with the client type.

9. The node of claim 6, wherein the node is configured to carry out said mapping of the positioning request by evaluating the positioning request and matching it with one of the client types or service types in the extended set, and correspondingly generating one or more information elements to be included in the signaling for the positioning node so that said signaling indicates the location QoS criteria that are associated with the matching client type or service type.

10. A method of processing positioning requests at a positioning node in a wireless communication network that is configured to provide location services for user equipment (UE), said method comprising:

receiving a positioning request for a given user equipment (UE) or network node as a signaling message;

determining a particular positioning sequence to use for providing positioning information in response to the positioning request, based on at least one of;

determining the particular positioning sequence from signaling in the positioning request that identifies the particular positioning sequence desired;

or

mapping information signaled in the positioning request to a particular positioning sequence available at the positioning node, wherein that information comprises an extended client or service type that the positioning node maps to a corresponding location QoS criteria, which it then maps to the particular positioning sequence, wherein the extended client or service type is one in an extended set of client or service types corresponding to a plurality of different types of commercial location-based services that are distinguished in terms of their location QoS criteria, or wherein the information signaled in the positioning request comprises location QoS criteria that the positioning node maps to the particular positioning sequence; and

performing the particular positioning sequence to determine said positioning information and sending one or more messages conveying said positioning information.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising reporting a confidence value in association with sending the one or more messages conveying the positioning information.

12. The method of claim 11, comprising reporting the type of statistical model on which the confidence value is based, as part of said reporting of the confidence value.

13. A positioning node configured for processing positioning requests in a wireless communication network that is configured to provide location services for user equipment (UE), said positioning node comprising:

a communications interface for receiving a positioning request for a given user equipment (UE) or network node as a signaling message; and

one or more processing circuits configured to;

determine a particular positioning sequence to use for providing positioning information in response to the positioning request, based on one of;

determining the particular positioning sequence from signaling in the positioning request that identifies the particular positioning sequence desired;

or

mapping information signaled in the positioning request to a particular positioning sequence available at the positioning node, wherein that information comprises an extended client or service type that the positioning node maps to a corresponding location QoS criteria, which it then maps to the particular positioning sequence, wherein the extended client or service type is one in an extended set of client or service types corresponding to a plurality of different types of commercial location-based services that are distinguished in terms of their location QoS criteria, or wherein the information signaled in the positioning request comprises location QoS criteria that the positioning node maps to the particular positioning sequence; and

perform the particular positioning sequence to determine said positioning information and send one or more messages conveying said positioning information.

14. The positioning node of claim 13, wherein the positioning node is configured to report a confidence value in association with sending the one or more messages conveying the positioning information.

15. The positioning node of claim 14, wherein the positioning node is configured to report the type of statistical model on which the confidence value is based, as part of said reporting of the confidence value.

16. A method in a user equipment (UE) comprising:

maintaining an extended set of client types or service types corresponding to a plurality of different types of commercial location-based services, wherein the different types of commercial location-based services are distinguished in terms of their location QoS criteria; and

sending a positioning request associated with a given commercial location-based service, and including in said positioning request an indication of the extended client type or service type corresponding to the given commercial location-based service.