Granted Patent B2

US 12,302,189 · App. 18/405,338 · Granted May 13, 2025

Inventors: Sunghoon Kim (Seoul, KR); Youngkyo Baek (Seoul, KR); Hoyeon Lee (Seoul, KR); Jungje Son (Yongin-si, KR)

Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

H04W4/02H04W8/02H04W48/16H04W60/02H04W64/003

Abstract

Claims (41)

1. A method performed by a base station in a communication system, the method comprising:

if the base station receives a first location report request for a first terminal from an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity,

transmitting, to the AMF entity, a first location report including last known location information of the first terminal identified by the base station and a time stamp associated with the last known location information of the first terminal, while the first terminal is in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state; and

if the base station receives a second location report request for a second terminal from the AMF entity, performing a radio access network (RAN) paging for the second terminal, and transmitting, to the AMF entity, a second location report including information on a location of the second terminal which is based on the RAN paging, while the second terminal is in the RRC inactive state,

wherein the last known location information of the first terminal includes an identity of a cell for the first terminal, and

wherein the information on the location of the second terminal includes an identity of a cell for the second terminal.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the last known location information of the first terminal further includes a tracking area identifier for the first terminal.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information on the location of the second terminal further includes a tracking area identifier for the second terminal.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the last known location information of the first terminal identified by the base station and the time stamp associated with the last known location information of the first terminal are reported whenever the first terminal changes a cell.

5. A method performed by an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity in a communication system, the method comprising:

transmitting, to a base station, a first location report request for a first terminal;

receiving, from the base station, a first location report for the first terminal in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the first location report including last known location information of the first terminal identified by the base station and a time stamp associated with the last known location information of the first terminal;

transmitting, to the base station, a second location report request for a second terminal; and

receiving, from the base station, a second location report for the second terminal in the RRC inactive state, the second location report including information on a location of the second terminal, and the information on the location of the second terminal being determined based on a radio access network (RAN) paging performed for the second terminal,

wherein the last known location information of the first terminal includes an identity of a cell for the first terminal, and

wherein the information on the location of the second terminal includes an identity of a cell for the second terminal.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the last known location information of the first terminal further includes a tracking area identifier for the first terminal.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the information on the location of the second terminal further includes a tracking area identifier for the second terminal.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the last known location information of the first terminal identified by the base station and the time stamp associated with the last known location information of the first terminal are received whenever the first terminal changes a cell.

9. A base station in a communication system, the base station comprising:

a transceiver; and

a controller configured to:

if the base station receives a first location report request for a first terminal from an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity, transmit, to the AMF entity via the transceiver, a first location report including last known location information of the first terminal identified by the base station and a time stamp associated with the last known location information of the first terminal, while the first terminal is in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, and

if the base station receives a second location report request for a second terminal from the AMF entity, perform a radio access network (RAN) paging for the second terminal, and transmit, to the AMF entity via the transceiver, a second location report including information on a location of the second terminal which is based on the RAN paging, while the second terminal is in the RRC inactive state,

wherein the last known location information of the first terminal includes an identity of a cell for the first terminal, and

wherein the information on the location of the second terminal includes an identity of a cell for the second terminal.

10. The base station of claim 9 , wherein the last known location information of the first terminal further includes a tracking area identifier for the first terminal.

11. The base station of claim 9 , wherein the information on the location of the second terminal further includes a tracking area identifier for the second terminal.

12. The base station of claim 9 , wherein the last known location information of the first terminal identified by the base station and the time stamp associated with the last known location information of the first terminal are reported whenever the first terminal changes a cell.

13. An access and mobility management function (AMF) entity in a communication system, the AMF entity comprising:

a transceiver; and

a controller configured to:

transmit, to a base station via the transceiver, a first location report request for a first terminal,

receive, from the base station via the transceiver, a first location report for the first terminal in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the first location report including last known location information of the first terminal identified by the base station and a time stamp associated with the last known location information of the first terminal,

transmit, to the base station via the transceiver, a second location report request for a second terminal, and

receive, from the base station via the transceiver, a second location report for the second terminal in the RRC inactive state, the second location report including information on a location of the second terminal, and the information on the location of the second terminal being determined based on a radio access network (RAN) paging performed for the second terminal,

wherein the last known location information of the first terminal includes an identity of a cell for the first terminal, and

wherein the information on the location of the second terminal includes an identity of a cell for the second terminal.

14. The AMF entity of claim 13 , wherein the last known location information of the first terminal further includes a tracking area identifier for the first terminal.

15. The AMF entity of claim 13 , wherein the information on the location of the second terminal further includes a tracking area identifier for the second terminal.

16. The AMF entity of claim 13 , wherein the last known location information of the first terminal identified by the base station and the time stamp associated with the last known location information of the first terminal are received whenever the first terminal changes a cell.

Priority Claims (2)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (172)