CN105025453A

CN105025453A - proximity communication charging method and device

Info

Publication number: CN105025453A
Application number: CN201410183206.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 周燕飞; 张娟
Original assignee: China Academy of Telecommunications Technology CATT
Current assignee: China Academy of Telecommunications Technology CATT; Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2014-04-30
Filing date: 2014-04-30
Publication date: 2015-11-04
Anticipated expiration: 2034-04-30
Also published as: CN105025453B

Abstract

The invention discloses a proximity communication charging method and device, used for solving the problem that the business data generated by communication of proximity communication does not go through gateways, and accordingly a present charging mechanism is not suitable for proximity communication. The method of the embodiment comprises: a gateway obtaining the information related to the proximity communication of a terminal reported by a base station; and the gateway determining and reporting the charging information related to the proximity communication of the terminal to a charging system based on the information reported by the base station, thereby realizing the charging of the proximity communication of the terminal.

Description

Charging method and device for proximity communication

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a charging method and device for proximity communications.

Background

Third generation partnership project (The 3)^rdWhen two User Equipments (UEs) defined by the protocol of Generation Partnership, 3GPP) communicate, a data channel of the UE1 sends data to a Serving evolved NodeB (eNB) as shown in fig. 1, and the eNB transfers the data to Serving core network devices, namely, a Serving Gateway (SGW) and a packet data network Gateway (PDN Gateway, PGW; PDN, Packet Data Network), the PGW routes the Data to the Data Network and reaches the PGW serving UE2, and the PGW serving UE2 transfers the Data to eNB serving UE2 and then to UE2 through eNB. The example shown in the figure is a scenario when the SGW and PGW served by UE1 and UE2 are the same, this beingThe process of routing data for the PGW serving UE1 to the PGW serving UE2 is omitted.

As can be seen from fig. 1, even if the distance between two communicating terminals is very close, the communication data needs to pass through the respective serving eNB and core network to reach the opposite terminal. While proximity communication techniques are studying direct communication between two UEs or only via an eNB when both communicating parties meet certain conditions (e.g., close distance), i.e., the UE1 and the UE2 may not need to directly transmit data via the mobile network device (as shown in fig. 2), or forward data via the same eNB without passing through the core network (as shown in fig. 3). The transmission mode can reduce the data transmission delay and save the network resources, particularly the network resources of the core network.

Existing charging mechanisms fall into two broad categories: the offline charging and the online charging are respectively and simply described below.

1. Offline Charging, which is accomplished through the mutual cooperation between a Charging Data Function (CDF), a Charging Gateway Function (CGF), and a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF).

The CDF may be implemented in the SGW and the PGW, the CGF is implemented in the Charging gateway, the PCRF issues Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rules to the SGW and/or the PGW, the SGW/PGW performs Charging Data acquisition according to Charging information in the PCC rules, for example, acquiring duration, traffic, and the like of a service flow, and then sends a Charging Data Record (CDR) to the Charging gateway.

2. Online charging, which may perform flow-based charging.

The PCC rule indicates to the PGW whether the service data flow needs Online Charging, and if so, the PGW requests a corresponding quota from an Online Charging Server (OCS) before transmitting the service data flow. The OCS provides authorization based on information provided by the PGW (e.g., Quality of Service (QoS), Access Point Name (APN), etc.), and provides quota information of traffic, duration, or event for a specified tariff group. When the quota is exhausted, or the valid time arrives, or the like, the PGW reports to the OCS. Through the mechanism, the OCS can flexibly and dynamically configure the quota of each service data stream so as to achieve the purpose of fine charging.

In a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a network side may provide direct communication data transmission for two terminals adjacent to each other, so that the two terminals may directly use air interface resources between the two terminals to receive and transmit data through a core network. Since the resources for the proximity communication are configured by the base station to the terminal, the proximity communication needs to be charged. However, in the existing charging mechanism, whether online charging or offline charging is based on a mechanism of reporting the statistical traffic of the gateway. For the proximity communication, the service data generated by the communication does not pass through the gateway, so the existing charging mechanism cannot be applied to the proximity communication.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention discloses a charging method and a charging device for proximity communication, which are used for solving the problem that the existing charging mechanism cannot be applied to the proximity communication.

The embodiment of the invention provides a charging method for proximity communication, which comprises the following steps:

the gateway acquires information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal reported by the base station;

and the gateway determines charging information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal according to the information reported by the base station and reports the charging information to a charging system.

In implementation, before the gateway acquires the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, which is reported by the base station, the method further includes:

after receiving the adjacent communication charging trigger information sent by a policy control and charging rule function (PCRF), the gateway determines that the adjacent communication of the terminal needs to be charged and instructs the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal; or,

after receiving indication information which is sent by a core network control entity and used for indicating that charging needs to be carried out on the adjacent communication of the terminal, the gateway determines that charging needs to be carried out on the adjacent communication of the terminal and indicates the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal; or,

and the gateway determines that the charging needs to be carried out on the adjacent communication of the terminal according to the pre-configured configuration information and instructs the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal.

Preferably, the instructing, by the gateway, the base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal includes: the gateway sends first control information used for indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal to a core network control entity, so that the core network control entity indicates the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal;

the gateway acquiring information related to the proximity communication of the terminal reported by the base station includes: and the gateway receives a second report message sent by a core network control entity, wherein the second report message carries information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal, which is reported to the core network control entity by the base station.

Further, the method further comprises:

after receiving the first control information, the core network control entity sends second control information to the base station, wherein the second control information comprises indication information for indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal;

after receiving a first report message sent by the base station, the core network control entity sends a second report message to the gateway, wherein the first report message carries information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal

Preferably, after receiving the first control information, the core network control entity further includes, if the terminal triggers S1 handover, the method further includes:

in the S1 handover process, the core network control entity serves as a source core network control entity to send a forwarding redirection request to a target core network control entity, where the forwarding redirection request carries indication information used for indicating the target base station to report information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal, and identification information of the terminal.

Based on any of the above embodiments, the information reported by the base station includes at least one of the following information: the base station comprises first indication information used for indicating the beginning of the adjacent communication of the terminal, second indication information used for indicating the ending of the adjacent communication of the terminal and related information of resources allocated to the adjacent communication of the terminal by the base station.

Preferably, the information about the resources allocated by the base station for the neighbor communication of the terminal includes the number of allocated resources.

Preferably, the information reported by the base station further includes: quality of service (QoS) information corresponding to proximity communication of the terminal.

The embodiment of the invention provides another charging method for proximity communication, which comprises the following steps:

the base station determines information related to proximity communication of the terminal;

and the base station reports the determined information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal to the gateway.

In an implementation, the base station determines information related to proximity communication of a terminal, including:

and after receiving the indication information indicating that the gateway indicates the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal, the base station determines the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal.

Preferably, the receiving, by the base station, indication information indicating that the base station reports information related to the proximity communication of the terminal by the gateway includes: the base station receives second control information sent by a core network control entity, wherein the second control information comprises indication information used for indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal;

the base station reports the determined information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal to the gateway, and the information comprises the following steps: and the base station sends a first report message to a core network control entity, wherein the first report message carries information which is determined by the base station and is related to the adjacent communication of the terminal.

Based on any of the above embodiments, preferably, if the terminal triggers X2 handover and the base station is a source base station, after the base station receives indication information indicating that the gateway indicates the base station to report information related to proximity communication of the terminal, the method further includes:

the base station sends an X2 handover request to a target base station in the X2 handover process of the terminal, and the X2 handover request carries indication information used for indicating the target base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal.

Based on any of the above embodiments, preferably, if the terminal triggers an X2 handover and the base station is a target base station, the base station determines information related to proximity communication of the terminal, including:

after receiving an X2 handover request sent by a source base station, the base station determines information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal, wherein the X2 handover request carries indication information for indicating the target base station to report the information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal.

Based on any of the above embodiments, preferably, if the terminal triggers S1 handover and the base station is a target base station, the determining, by the base station, information related to proximity communication of the terminal includes:

after receiving an S1 handover request sent by a target core network control entity, the base station determines information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal, where the S1 handover request carries indication information used for indicating that the target base station reports the information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal, and identification information of the terminal.

Based on any of the foregoing embodiments, preferably, after the base station reports the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, which is determined by the base station, to the gateway, the method further includes:

and the base station does not initiate a releasing process of the S1 connection when determining that no data is transmitted between the terminal and the core network.

Based on any of the above embodiments, the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal determined by the base station includes at least one of the following information:

the base station comprises first indication information used for indicating the beginning of the adjacent communication of the terminal, second indication information used for indicating the ending of the adjacent communication of the terminal and related information of resources allocated to the adjacent communication of the terminal by the base station.

Preferably, the determining, by the base station, information related to proximity communication of the terminal includes:

the base station determines the time when the base station allocates resources for the adjacent communication of the terminal as the start of the adjacent communication of the terminal; and the number of the first and second groups,

and the base station determines the releasing time of the resource allocated for the adjacent communication of the terminal by the base station as the end of the adjacent communication of the terminal.

Preferably, the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal determined by the base station further includes quality of service QoS information corresponding to the proximity communication of the terminal.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a gateway, where the gateway includes:

the first processing module is used for acquiring information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal reported by the base station;

and the second processing module is used for determining charging information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal according to the information reported by the base station and reporting the charging information to a charging system.

In an implementation, before acquiring the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal reported by the base station, the first processing module is further configured to:

after receiving the adjacent communication charging trigger information sent by the PCRF, determining that the adjacent communication of the terminal needs to be charged, and indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal;

or after receiving indication information which is sent by a core network control entity and used for indicating that charging needs to be performed on the adjacent communication of the terminal, determining that charging needs to be performed on the adjacent communication of the terminal, and indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal;

or, according to the pre-configured configuration information, determining that charging needs to be performed on the terminal's proximity communication, and instructing the base station to report information related to the terminal's proximity communication.

Preferably, the first processing module instructs the base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, specifically:

sending first control information used for indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal to a core network control entity, so that the core network control entity indicates the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal;

and receiving a second report message sent by a core network control entity, wherein the second report message carries information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal, which is reported to the core network control entity by the base station.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a base station, including:

a determining module for determining information related to proximity communication of a terminal;

and the reporting module is used for reporting the determined information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal to the gateway.

In an implementation, the determining module is specifically configured to:

and after receiving the indication information of the gateway indicating the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal, determining the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal.

Preferably, the determining module is specifically configured to: receiving second control information sent by a core network control entity, wherein the second control information comprises indication information used for indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal;

the reporting module is specifically configured to: and sending a first report message to a core network control entity, wherein the first report message carries the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, which is determined by the determining module.

Based on any of the above embodiments, preferably, if the terminal triggers an X2 handover and the base station is a source base station, the base station further includes:

a notification module, configured to send an X2 handover request to a target base station in an X2 handover process of the terminal, and carry, in the X2 handover request, indication information used for indicating that the target base station reports information related to proximity communication of the terminal, and identification information of the terminal.

Based on any of the foregoing embodiments, preferably, if the terminal triggers an X2 handover and the base station is a target base station, the determining module is specifically configured to:

after receiving an X2 handover request sent by a source base station, determining information related to the proximity communication of a terminal, wherein the X2 handover request carries indication information for indicating that the target base station reports the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal.

Based on any of the foregoing embodiments, preferably, if the terminal triggers S1 handover, and the base station is a target base station, the determining module is specifically configured to:

after receiving an S1 handover request sent by a target core network control entity, determining information related to neighboring communication of a terminal, where the S1 handover request carries indication information for indicating that the target base station reports the information related to neighboring communication of the terminal, and identification information of the terminal.

Based on any of the foregoing embodiments, preferably, after the reporting module reports the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, which is determined by the determining module, to the gateway, the determining module is further configured to:

and when determining that no data is transmitted between the terminal and the core network, not initiating the release process of the S1 connection.

Based on any of the above embodiments, preferably, the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal determined by the determining module includes at least one of the following information: the base station comprises first indication information used for indicating the beginning of the adjacent communication of the terminal, second indication information used for indicating the ending of the adjacent communication of the terminal and related information of resources allocated to the adjacent communication of the terminal by the base station.

Preferably, the determining module determines information related to proximity communication of the terminal, including:

determining the time when the base station to which the base station belongs allocates resources for the adjacent communication of the terminal as the start of the adjacent communication of the terminal; and the number of the first and second groups,

and determining the releasing time of the resource allocated to the adjacent communication of the terminal by the base station to which the base station belongs as the end of the adjacent communication of the terminal.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a gateway, where the gateway includes a transceiver, at least one processor connected to the transceiver, and memories connected to the transceiver and the processor, respectively, where:

the transceiver is configured to: acquiring information related to the adjacent communication of a terminal reported by a base station; reporting the charging information determined by the processor to a charging system;

the processor is configured for: determining charging information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal according to the information reported by the base station;

the memory is configured to: and storing the information reported by the base station.

In an implementation, before acquiring the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal reported by the base station, the transceiver is further configured to: after receiving the adjacent communication charging trigger information sent by the PCRF, determining that the adjacent communication of the terminal needs to be charged, and indicating a base station to which the terminal belongs currently to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal; or,

and receiving indication information which is sent by a core network control entity and used for indicating that the charging of the proximity communication of the terminal is needed.

Further, the processor is further configured for: after receiving the charging trigger information of the adjacent communication, the transceiver determines that the charging of the adjacent communication of the terminal is needed, and triggers the transceiver to indicate the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal; or,

after a transceiver receives indication information which is sent by a core network control entity and used for indicating that charging needs to be carried out on the adjacent communication of the terminal, the transceiver determines that charging needs to be carried out on the adjacent communication of the terminal and indicates the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal; or,

and determining that the charging needs to be carried out on the adjacent communication of the terminal according to the pre-configured configuration information, and triggering a transceiver to indicate the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal.

Preferably, the transceiver instructs the base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, specifically:

sending first control information used for indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal to a core network control entity, so that the core network control entity indicates the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal; and

In the embodiment of the present invention, the information reported by the base station includes at least one of the following information: the base station comprises first indication information used for indicating the beginning of the adjacent communication of the terminal, second indication information used for indicating the end of the adjacent communication of the terminal, and related information of resources allocated to the adjacent communication of the terminal by the base station.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides another base station, where the base station includes a transceiver and at least one processor connected to the transceiver, where:

the processor is configured for: determining information related to proximity communication of a terminal;

the transceiver is configured to: and reporting the determined information related to the proximity communication of the terminal to the gateway.

In an implementation, the transceiver is further configured to: acquiring indication information of the gateway indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal;

the processor is configured specifically to: and after the transceiver receives the indication information of the gateway indicating the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal, determining the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal.

Preferably, the transceiver is configured specifically to: receiving second control information sent by a core network control entity, wherein the second control information comprises indication information used for indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal; and

and sending a first report message to a core network control entity, wherein the first report message carries information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, which is determined by a processor.

Based on any of the above embodiments, preferably, if the terminal triggers the X2 handover and the base station in the embodiment of the present invention is the source base station, the transceiver is further configured to:

in the process of the X2 handover of the terminal, an X2 handover request is sent to a target base station, and the X2 handover request carries indication information for indicating the target base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal.

Based on any of the above embodiments, preferably, if the terminal triggers an X2 handover and the base station in the embodiment of the present invention is a target base station, the processor is configured to specifically:

after receiving an X2 handover request sent by a source base station, a transceiver determines information related to the neighbor communication of a terminal, wherein the X2 handover request carries indication information for indicating a target base station to report the information related to the neighbor communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal.

Based on any of the above embodiments, preferably, if the terminal triggers S1 handover, and the base station in the embodiment of the present invention is a target base station, the processor is configured to specifically:

after receiving an S1 handover request sent by a target core network control entity, a transceiver determines information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal, where the S1 handover request carries indication information for indicating a target base station to report the information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal.

Preferably, based on any one of the above embodiments, the processor is further configured to: when it is determined that there is no data transmission between the terminal and the core network, the release procedure of the S1 connection is not initiated.

Based on any of the above embodiments, preferably, the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal determined by the processor includes at least one of the following information: the base station comprises first indication information used for indicating the beginning of the adjacent communication of the terminal, second indication information used for indicating the ending of the adjacent communication of the terminal and related information of resources allocated to the adjacent communication of the terminal by the base station.

In an implementation, the processor determines information related to proximity communication of the terminal, including:

determining the time when the base station allocates resources for the adjacent communication of the terminal as the start of the adjacent communication of the terminal; and the number of the first and second groups,

and determining the releasing time of the resource allocated by the base station for the adjacent communication of the terminal as the end of the adjacent communication of the terminal.

In the charging method and device for proximity communication provided in the embodiments of the present invention, a gateway obtains information related to proximity communication of a terminal, which is reported by a base station, determines charging information related to proximity communication of the terminal according to the information reported by the base station, and reports the charging information to a charging system, thereby implementing charging for proximity communication of the terminal.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a first data channel in communication between two user equipments provided in the background art;

fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating a second data channel in communication between two user equipments provided in the background art;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a third data channel in communication between two user equipments provided in the background art;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a charging method for gateway-side proximity communication according to the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a charging method for proximity communication at a base station side according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic flow chart of a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic flow chart of a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic flow chart of a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic flow chart of a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic flow chart of a ninth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic flow chart of a tenth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a flow chart of a twelfth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of a gateway provided by the present invention;

fig. 15 is a schematic diagram of a base station according to the present invention;

fig. 16 is a schematic diagram of another gateway provided by the present invention;

fig. 17 is a schematic diagram of another base station provided in the present invention.

Detailed Description

The gateway of the invention determines the charging information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal based on the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal reported by the base station, and reports the charging information to the charging system, thereby realizing the charging of the adjacent communication of the terminal.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the drawings attached hereto. It is to be understood that the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and explanatory of the invention and are not restrictive thereof.

As shown in fig. 4, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for charging for proximity communication on a gateway side, where the method includes:

and step 41, the gateway acquires the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal reported by the base station.

In this step, the gateway obtains information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal, which is reported by a base station to which the terminal currently belongs, where the base station to which the terminal currently belongs is a base station that currently provides a service for the terminal.

And step 42, the gateway determines the charging information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal according to the information reported by the base station, and reports the charging information to the charging system.

In the embodiment of the invention, the gateway acquires the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal reported by the base station, determines the charging information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal according to the information reported by the base station, and reports the charging information to the charging system, thereby realizing the charging of the adjacent communication of the terminal.

Preferably, the information related to the resources allocated by the base station for the neighbor communication of the terminal may be the number of resources allocated by the base station for the neighbor communication of the terminal.

In practice, prior to step 41, the method further comprises:

after receiving the adjacent communication charging triggering information sent by the PCRF, the gateway determines that the adjacent communication of the terminal needs to be charged and indicates a base station to which the terminal belongs currently to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal; or,

after receiving indication information which is sent by a core network control entity and used for indicating that the charging of the adjacent communication of the terminal is needed, the gateway determines that the charging of the adjacent communication of the terminal is needed, and indicates a base station to which the terminal belongs currently to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal; or,

the gateway determines that the charging needs to be carried out on the adjacent communication of the terminal according to the pre-configured configuration information, and indicates the base station to which the terminal belongs currently to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal.

Specifically, before step 41, the gateway determines whether to start charging for the proximity communication of the terminal, and instructs the base station to which the terminal currently belongs to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal when determining to start charging for the proximity communication of the terminal according to the proximity communication charging trigger information sent by the PCRF, the indication information sent by the core network control entity, or the pre-configured configuration information.

In implementation, the gateway and the base station generally communicate with each other through a core network control entity, and then:

the gateway instructs the base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, specifically: the gateway sends first control information used for indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal to a core network control entity so that the core network control entity indicates the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal;

the gateway acquires information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal, which is reported by the base station, and the information includes: and the gateway receives a second report message sent by a core network control entity, wherein the second report message carries information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal, which is reported to the core network control entity by the base station.

Further, after the core network control entity receives the first control information, the method further includes:

a core network control entity sends second control information to a base station, wherein the second control information comprises indication information used for indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of a terminal and identification information of the terminal so as to indicate the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal corresponding to the identification information contained in the second control information; and

and after receiving a first reporting message sent by the base station, the core network control entity sends a second reporting message to the gateway, wherein the first reporting message carries information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the gateway includes a PGW and an SGW, and the PGW communicates with the core network control entity through the SGW. The above indication process is as follows: the PGW sends the first control information to the SGW; the SGW sends the received first control information to a core network control entity; after receiving the first control information, the core network control entity sends second control information to the base station to instruct the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal corresponding to the identification information contained in the second control information;

the reporting process of the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal comprises the following steps: the base station sends information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal to a core network control entity through a first report message; the core network control entity sends the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal reported by the base station to the SGW through a second report message; the SGW then transmits information related to the proximity communication of the terminal to the PGW through an existing message or a newly defined message.

In the embodiment of the invention, the core network control entity is a network entity arranged between the gateway and the base station and can directly communicate with the gateway and the base station. Preferably, the core network control Entity is a Mobility Management Entity (MME).

In an implementation, the first control information may be carried by an existing message between the gateway and the core network control entity, such as a session creation response message. Of course, the first control information may also be carried by a newly defined message between the gateway and the core network control entity.

In an implementation, the second control information may be carried by an existing message between the core network control entity and the base station, such as the S1 message. Of course, the second control information may also be carried by a newly defined message between the core network control entity and the base station.

In an implementation, the first report message may be an existing message between the core network control entity and the base station, or may be a newly defined message between the core network control entity and the base station.

In an implementation, the second report message may be an existing message between the core network control entity and the gateway, or may be a newly defined message between the core network control entity and the gateway.

In an implementation, after receiving the first control information, if the terminal triggers S1 handover, the method further includes:

in the S1 handover process, the core network control entity, as the source core network control entity, sends a forwarding redirection request to the target core network control entity, where the forwarding redirection request carries indication information for indicating the target base station to report information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal, and identification information of the terminal.

Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for charging for proximity communication at a base station side, which is shown in fig. 5 and includes:

step 51, the base station determines information related to the proximity communication of the terminal;

and step 52, the base station reports the determined information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal to the gateway.

In the embodiment of the invention, the base station determines the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal and reports the determined information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal to the gateway, so that the gateway can determine corresponding charging information based on the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal reported by the base station, thereby realizing the charging of the adjacent communication of the terminal.

Preferably, the base station determines information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, including:

the base station determines the time of allocating resources for the adjacent communication of the terminal as the start of the adjacent communication of the terminal; and the number of the first and second groups,

the base station determines the time of release of the resource allocated to the terminal for the proximity communication as the end of the proximity communication of the terminal.

In the implementation, step 51 specifically includes: after receiving the indication information of the gateway indicating the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal, the base station determines the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal.

the method for the base station to receive the indication information of the gateway indicating the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal comprises the following steps: the base station receives second control information sent by a core network control entity, wherein the second control information comprises indication information used for indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal;

the base station reports the determined information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal to the gateway, and the information comprises the following steps: and the base station sends a first report message to the core network control entity, wherein the first report message carries the information which is determined by the base station and is related to the adjacent communication of the terminal.

Further, the method also includes: after receiving first control information which is sent by a gateway and used for indicating a base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of a terminal, a core network control entity sends second control information to the base station, wherein the second control information comprises indication information used for indicating the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal so as to indicate the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal corresponding to the identification information contained in the second control information; and

the reporting process of the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal comprises the following steps: the base station sends information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal to a core network control entity through a newly defined first report message; the core network control entity sends the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal reported by the base station to the SGW through a newly defined second report message; the SGW then transmits information related to the proximity communication of the terminal to the PGW through an existing message or a newly defined message.

In implementation, if the terminal triggers an X2 handover and the base station in the embodiment of the present invention is a source base station, after the base station receives indication information indicating that the base station reports information related to neighboring communication of the terminal by a gateway, the method further includes:

the source base station sends an X2 handover request to the target base station in the X2 handover process of the terminal, and the X2 handover request carries indication information for indicating the target base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal.

In implementation, if the source base station has allocated resources for the neighboring communication of the terminal before the terminal performs the X2 handover, optionally, the source base station sends an X2 handover request to the target base station, and also carries information of the resources allocated by the source base station for the neighboring communication of the terminal.

In this case, of course, the source base station may not notify the target base station of the information on the resource allocated by the source base station to the neighboring communication of the terminal.

In implementation, if the terminal triggers an X2 handover and the base station in the embodiment of the present invention is a target base station, step 51 specifically includes:

after receiving an X2 handover request sent by a source base station, a target base station determines information related to the neighboring communication of a terminal, where the X2 handover request carries indication information for indicating the target base station to report the information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal.

Optionally, the X2 handover request further carries information of resources allocated by the source base station for the neighboring communication of the terminal.

In implementation, if the terminal triggers S1 handover and the base station in the embodiment of the present invention is a target base station, step 51 specifically includes:

after receiving an S1 handover request sent by a target core network control entity, a target base station determines information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal, where the S1 handover request carries indication information for indicating the target base station to report the information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal.

The S1 handover request is sent by the target core network control entity to the target base station after receiving the forwarding redirection request sent by the source core network control entity, where the forwarding redirection request carries indication information for indicating the target base station to report information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal, and identification information of the terminal.

Optionally, the S1 handover request further carries information of resources allocated by the source base station for the neighboring communication of the terminal.

Specifically, if the source base station has allocated resources for the neighboring communication of the terminal before the terminal performs the S1 handover, in this case, optionally, the source base station notifies the source core network control entity of information of the resources allocated for the neighboring communication of the terminal by itself; the forwarding redirection request sent by the source core network control entity to the target core network control entity also carries the information of resources allocated by the source base station for the adjacent communication of the terminal; the S1 handover request sent by the target core network control entity to the target base station also carries information of resources allocated by the source base station for the neighboring communication of the terminal. In this case, of course, the source base station may not notify the source core network control entity of the information of the resource allocated by the source base station for the neighboring communication of the terminal.

Based on any of the above embodiments, when the base station detects that the time for no data transmission between the terminal and the core network exceeds the set time threshold, the base station will initiate a release process of S1 connection, release the S1 connection between the base station and the core network, and thereafter the UE will enter an idle state. In this embodiment of the present invention, after the base station reports the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal determined by the base station to the gateway through the core network control entity, if the base station determines that there is no data transmission between the terminal and the core network and the terminal is still performing the proximity communication, as an optional implementation manner, the method further includes: the base station does not initiate the release procedure of the S1 connection.

The following describes in detail a charging method for proximity communication according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to several specific embodiments.

In a first embodiment, a core network control entity is an MME, a base station is an eNB, and a gateway includes an SGW and a PGW, where the gateway for charging for proximity communication is the PGW. The specific process of the PGW notifying the base station of the start and the end of the reporting of the proximity communication through the core network control entity is shown in fig. 6, and includes the following steps:

a UE initiates a PDN connection establishment, which may be used to carry communications between the UE and a Proximity Service (ProSe) functional entity. In the PDN connection procedure, the MME sends a create session request message to the PGW through the SGW.

And 2, after receiving the session establishment request message, the PGW initiates an IP connection Access Network (IP-CAN) session establishment process with the PCRF. In this process, the PCRF learns that the PDN connection may be used to carry communication between the UE and the ProSe function entity (for example, through Access Point Name (APN) information), and sends proximity communication charging trigger information to the PGW.

And 3, after receiving the proximity communication event trigger, the PGW sets first control information for instructing the eNB to report information related to the proximity communication of the UE, and sends the first control information to the SGW through a session creation response, and the SGW further sends the first control information to the MME.

And 4, after receiving the first control information, the MME sends second control information to the eNB through a newly defined message between the MME and the eNB, wherein the second control information comprises the first control information and the UE identifier.

And 5, after receiving the second control information, the eNB starts to monitor the start and the end of the proximity communication of the related UE.

In the second embodiment, in the present embodiment, the PGW determines whether to start charging for the proximity communication and notify the SGW according to the configuration information, and the SGW notifies the base station of the start and end of reporting the proximity communication through the core network control entity, where a specific procedure is shown in fig. 7, and includes:

UE initiates establishment of PDN connection, which can be used for carrying communication between UE and ProSe functional entity. In the PDN connection process, the MME sends a session creation request message to the SGW.

And 2, the SGW sends a proxy binding update message to the PGW, wherein the proxy binding update message contains APN information.

And 3, the PGW can know that the PDN connection corresponding to the APN can bear the communication between the UE and the ProSe functional entity according to the pre-configured configuration information, and decides to start the charging of the proximity communication.

And 4, the PGW sets first control information used for indicating the eNB to report the information related to the UE proximity communication, and carries the first control information in the proxy binding response message to be sent to the SGW.

And 5, the SGW returns a session creation response message to the MME, and the session creation response message carries the first control information.

And 6, after receiving the first control information, the MME sends an S1 message to the eNB, wherein the message is an existing message between the MME and the eNB, and the S1 message carries second control information, and the second control information comprises the first control information and the UE identity.

And 7, after receiving the S1 message carrying the second control information, the eNB starts to monitor the start and the end of the proximity communication of the related UE.

In a third embodiment, in this embodiment, the reporting, by the eNB, first indication information for indicating the start of proximity communication of the UE includes, as shown in fig. 8:

UE requests proximity communication related procedures such as proximity discovery, proximity communication registration, etc.

A serving eNB for a UE allocates a proximity communication resource for the UE.

2. Since the eNB receives the second control information before, the eNB sends the first reporting message to the MME after allocating the proximity communication resource, where the first reporting message carries an indication of the start of the proximity communication.

And 3, the MME sends an indication (a second report message in the figure) of the start of the proximity communication to the PGW through the SGW, where the indication may be sent by including in an existing message or by sending through a new message.

And 4, after receiving the indication, the PGW initiates IP-CAN session modification with the PCRF and informs the PCRF UE that the proximity communication is started. The PCRF may issue the modified PCC rules to the PGW.

And 5, after receiving the indication, the PGW records the time when the UE proximity communication starts.

Depending on the configuration, the PGW may send charging information to the charging system at certain time intervals.

And 6, the PGW returns a response to the SGW, and the SGW returns a response to the MME.

In a fourth embodiment, the eNB reports second indication information for indicating the end of the proximity communication of the UE, and the PGW reports charging information. The specific process is shown in fig. 9, and includes:

UE proximity communication ends.

The UE interacts with the serving eNB, which releases the neighboring communication resources.

2. Since the eNB receives the first control information before, the eNB sends the first reporting message to the MME after releasing the neighboring communication resource, where the first reporting message carries an indication of the end of the neighboring communication.

The MME sends an indication (a second report message in the figure) of the end of the proximity communication to the PGW through the SGW, where the indication may be sent in an existing message or may be sent through a new message, that is, the second report message may be an existing message or a newly defined message.

And 4, after receiving the indication, the PGW initiates IP-CAN session modification with the PCRF and informs the PCRF UE that the proximity communication is finished. The PCRF may issue the modified PCC rules to the PGW.

And 5, after receiving the indication, the PGW records the time when the UE proximity communication ends.

Depending on the configuration, the PGW may send charging information, such as the proximity communication duration, to the charging system in a certain manner.

In a fifth embodiment, in this embodiment, after the UE starts proximity communication according to the third embodiment, there is no data transmission between the UE and the core network, but the base station still maintains the connection with the core network, and a specific process is shown in fig. 10, which includes:

0 to 6. the same procedure as in the third embodiment 0 to 6.

The eNB detects that there is no data transmission between the UE and the core network and has been for a certain time.

8. Since the eNB knows that the UE' S proximity communication is in progress at this time, the S1 release procedure is not initiated. The eNB may initiate release of a Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) bearer, but the eNB will maintain the S1 connection unreleased (e.g., hold certain non-GBR bearers).

Sixth embodiment and this embodiment are similar to the third embodiment, except that the base station carries the number of resource blocks allocated for the proximity communication and an optional proximity communication start indication in the first report message. And the PGW receives the information through the MME and stores the information.

A seventh embodiment is similar to the fourth embodiment, except that the base station carries the number of resources allocated for the proximity communication and an optional proximity communication end indication in the first report message. And the PGW receives the information through the MME and stores the information. And the PGW generates charging data corresponding to the adjacent communication based on the resource quantity and/or the duration and reports the charging data to the charging system.

The eighth embodiment is similar to the sixth embodiment, except that the base station carries the number of resources allocated for the neighbor communications, the neighbor communications start indication, and the QoS information corresponding to the neighbor communications in the first report message. Specifically, in the process of requesting the proximity communication, the UE requests the base station to establish two proximity communication bearers and corresponding QoS. And the base station allocates corresponding resources for the two bearers according to the requested QoS and reports the resources to the PGW through the MME. The information reported by the base station includes the number of resources, the QoS corresponding to the resources, and the like.

In ninth embodiment, in this embodiment, the PGW determines whether to start charging for proximity communication and notify the SGW according to the notification of the MME, and the SGW notifies the base station of the start and end of reporting the proximity communication through the MME, and a specific procedure is shown in fig. 11, and includes the following processes:

UE initiates an attach procedure.

2. In the attach process, the MME obtains subscription data of the UE from a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), where the subscription data includes charging information that needs to charge for proximity communication.

3. And establishing a PDN connection for carrying communication between the UE and the ProSe functional entity. In the PDN connection process, the MME sends a session creation request message to the SGW, wherein the session creation request message contains indication information needing to charge the proximity communication. The SGW sends a create session request message to the PGW, wherein the create session request message contains indication information that the proximity communication needs to be charged.

And 4, the PGW determines to start the charging of the proximity communication according to the indication information which is carried in the session creating request message and needs to charge the proximity communication. Optionally, the PGW initiates an IP-CAN session interaction.

And 5, the PGW sets first control information used for indicating the eNB to report the information related to the UE proximity communication, and carries the first control information in a session creation response message to be sent to the SGW. The SGW returns a session creation response message to the MME, and the session creation response message carries the first control information.

Tenth embodiment, the UE accesses from the source eNB and issues the second control information to the source eNB through the process of the first embodiment, the second embodiment, or the ninth embodiment. Before the UE initiates proximity communication, the UE movement triggers X2 handover, which is specifically described in fig. 12 and includes:

after receiving first control information sent by a PGW through an SGW, an MME sends second control information to a source eNB, wherein the second control information comprises the first control information and an identifier of UE.

2. The source eNB starts monitoring the start and end of the related UE proximity communication.

3. The X2 handover is triggered due to the movement of the UE.

4. And the source eNB sends an X2 handover request to the target eNB in the X2 handover process, and carries second control information in the X2 handover request.

5. The target eNB starts monitoring the start and end of the proximity communication according to the second control information.

Eleventh embodiment, this embodiment is different from the tenth embodiment in that after the MME issues the second control information to the source eNB, the UE initiates proximity communication at the source eNB, and then triggers an X2 handover due to the movement of the UE. In this embodiment, the source eNB carries the second control information and the information of the resource allocated by the source eNB for the proximity communication of the UE in the X2 handover request sent to the target eNB, and the other procedures are the same as those in the embodiment.

Twelfth, in this embodiment, the UE accesses from the source eNB, and issues the second control information to the source eNB through the processes of the first embodiment, the second embodiment, or the ninth embodiment. Before the UE initiates the proximity communication, S1 handover is triggered due to the movement of the UE, and the MME changes during the handover, which is specifically shown in fig. 13 and includes:

3. The S1 handover is triggered due to the movement of the UE.

4. In the S1 handover process, the source MME sends a forward redirection request message to the target MME, and the forward redirection request message carries the second control information.

5. The target MME stores the second control information, sends a switching request to the target eNB and carries the second control information in the switching request.

6. The target eNB starts monitoring the start and end of the proximity communication according to the second control information.

Thirteenth embodiment, the present embodiment is different from the twelfth embodiment in that after the MME issues the second control information to the source eNB, the UE initiates proximity communication at the source eNB, and then triggers S1 handover due to the movement of the UE. In this embodiment, a forward-to-redirect request message sent by a source MME to a target MME carries second control information and information of resources allocated by a source eNB for neighboring communication of a UE; correspondingly, the handover request sent by the target MME to the target eNB carries the second control information and the information of the resource allocated by the source eNB for the proximity communication of the UE, and the other procedures are the same as those in the twelfth embodiment.

The above method process flow may be implemented by a software program, which may be stored in a storage medium, and when the stored software program is called, the above method steps are performed.

Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a gateway, as shown in fig. 14, where the gateway includes:

the first processing module 141 is configured to acquire information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, which is reported by the base station;

the second processing module 142 is configured to determine charging information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal according to the information reported by the base station, and report the charging information to a charging system.

In implementation, before acquiring the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal reported by the base station, the first processing module 141 is further configured to:

after receiving the adjacent communication charging trigger information sent by the PCRF, determining that the adjacent communication of the terminal needs to be charged, and indicating a base station to which the terminal belongs currently to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal; or,

after receiving indication information which is sent by a core network control entity and used for indicating that charging needs to be carried out on the adjacent communication of the terminal, determining that charging needs to be carried out on the adjacent communication of the terminal, and indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal; or,

and determining that the charging needs to be carried out on the adjacent communication of the terminal according to the pre-configured configuration information, and indicating the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal.

In implementation, the gateway and the base station generally communicate with each other through a core network control entity, and then: the first processing module 141 instructs the base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, specifically:

Further, after receiving the first control information, the core network control entity sends second control information to the base station, where the second control information includes indication information for indicating the base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal, so as to indicate the base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal corresponding to the identification information included in the second control information; and

In the embodiment of the present invention, the gateway includes a PGW and an SGW, and the PGW communicates with the core network control entity through the SGW.

Preferably, the core network control entity is an MME.

In implementation, after receiving the first control information, if the terminal triggers S1 handover, in the handover process of S1, the core network control entity sends, as a source core network control entity, a forward redirection request to a target core network control entity, where the forward redirection request carries indication information for indicating a target base station to report information related to neighboring communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal.

Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a base station, as shown in fig. 15, where the base station includes:

a determining module 151 for determining information related to proximity communication of a terminal;

a reporting module 152, configured to report the determined information related to the proximity communication of the terminal to the gateway.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal determined by the determining module 151 includes at least one of the following information: the base station comprises first indication information used for indicating the beginning of the adjacent communication of the terminal, second indication information used for indicating the end of the adjacent communication of the terminal, and related information of resources allocated to the adjacent communication of the terminal by the base station.

Preferably, the determining module 151 determines information related to proximity communication of the terminal, including:

Preferably, the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal determined by the determining module 151 further includes: quality of Service (QoS) information corresponding to proximity communication of the terminal.

In implementation, the determining module 151 is specifically configured to: after receiving the indication information of the gateway indicating the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal, determining the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal.

Based on any of the above embodiments, in an implementation, when communication is performed between the gateway and the base station through the core network control entity, then:

the determining module 151 is specifically configured to: receiving second control information sent by a core network control entity, wherein the second control information comprises indication information used for indicating a base station to report information related to adjacent communication of a terminal and identification information of the terminal;

the reporting module 152 is specifically configured to: and sending a first report message to a core network control entity, wherein the first report message carries the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, which is determined by the determining module.

Further, after receiving first control information sent by the gateway and used for instructing the base station to report information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal, the core network control entity sends second control information to the base station, where the second control information includes indication information used for instructing the base station to report information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal, so as to instruct the base station to report information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal corresponding to the identification information included in the second control information; and

In implementation, if the terminal triggers an X2 handover and the base station in the embodiment of the present invention is a source base station, the base station further includes:

a notification module 153, configured to send an X2 handover request to the target base station in an X2 handover process of the terminal, and carry, in the X2 handover request, indication information used for indicating the target base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, and identification information of the terminal.

In implementation, if the source base station has allocated resources for the neighbor communication of the terminal before the terminal performs the X2 handover, optionally, the notification module 153 sends an X2 handover request to the target base station, and also carries information of the resources allocated by the source base station for the neighbor communication of the terminal.

In this case, of course, the notification module 153 may not notify the target base station of the information of the resource allocated by the source base station for the neighbor communication of the terminal.

In implementation, if the terminal triggers an X2 handover and the base station in the embodiment of the present invention is a target base station, the determining module 151 is specifically configured to:

after receiving an X2 handover request sent by a source base station, determining information related to the neighboring communication of a terminal, wherein the X2 handover request carries indication information for indicating a target base station to report the information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal.

In implementation, if the terminal triggers S1 handover and the base station in the embodiment of the present invention is a target base station, the determining module 151 is specifically configured to:

after receiving an S1 handover request sent by a target core network control entity, determining information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal, where the S1 handover request carries indication information for indicating a target base station to report the information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal.

Based on any of the above embodiments, when the base station detects that the time for no data transmission between the terminal and the core network exceeds the set time threshold, the base station will initiate a release process of S1 connection, release the S1 connection between the base station and the core network, and thereafter the UE will enter an idle state. In this embodiment of the present invention, as an optional implementation manner, the determining module is further configured to: when it is determined that there is no data transmission between the terminal and the core network, the release procedure of the S1 connection is not initiated.

The following describes a structure and a processing method of a gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to a preferred hardware structure. As shown in fig. 16, the gateway comprises a transceiver 161, at least one processor 162 connected to the transceiver 161, and a memory 163 connected to the transceiver 161 and the processor 162, respectively, wherein:

the transceiver 161 is configured to: acquiring information related to the adjacent communication of a terminal reported by a base station; reporting the charging information determined by the processor 162 to a charging system;

the processor 162 is configured for: determining charging information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal according to the information reported by the base station;

the memory 163 is configured for: and storing the information reported by the base station.

Preferably, the information reported by the base station further includes: QoS information corresponding to proximity communication of the terminal.

In implementation, the transceiver 161 is further configured to, before acquiring the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal reported by the base station: after receiving the adjacent communication charging trigger information sent by the PCRF, determining that the adjacent communication of the terminal needs to be charged, and indicating a base station to which the terminal belongs currently to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal; or,

Further, the processor 162 is also configured for: after the transceiver 161 receives the proximity communication charging trigger information, it determines that the proximity communication of the terminal needs to be charged, and triggers the transceiver 161 to instruct the base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal; or,

after the transceiver 161 receives the indication information for indicating that charging for the proximity communication of the terminal is required, which is sent by the core network control entity, it determines that charging for the proximity communication of the terminal is required, and indicates the base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal; or,

according to the pre-configured configuration information, it is determined that charging needs to be performed for the proximity communication of the terminal, and the transceiver 161 is triggered to instruct the base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal.

In implementation, the gateway and the base station generally communicate with each other through a core network control entity, and then: the transceiver 161 instructs the base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, specifically:

Preferably, the core network control entity is an MME.

Optionally, the forward-to-redirect request further carries information of resources allocated by the source base station for the neighboring communication of the terminal.

The structure and processing method of the base station according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to a preferred hardware structure. As shown in fig. 17, the base station includes a transceiver 171, and at least one processor 172 connected to the transceiver 171, wherein:

the processor 172 is configured to: determining information related to proximity communication of a terminal;

the transceiver 171 is configured for: and reporting the determined information related to the proximity communication of the terminal to the gateway.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal determined by the processor 172 includes at least one of the following information: the base station comprises first indication information used for indicating the beginning of the adjacent communication of the terminal, second indication information used for indicating the end of the adjacent communication of the terminal, and related information of resources allocated to the adjacent communication of the terminal by the base station.

Preferably, the processor 172 determines information related to proximity communication of the terminal, including:

Preferably, the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal determined by the processor 172 further includes: quality of Service (QoS) information corresponding to proximity communication of the terminal.

In implementation, the transceiver 171 is further configured to: acquiring indication information of the gateway indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal;

the processor 172 is configured to: after the transceiver 171 receives the indication information indicating that the gateway indicates the base station to report the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal is determined.

the transceiver 171 is configured specifically for: receiving second control information sent by a core network control entity, wherein the second control information comprises indication information used for indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal; and

and sending a first report message to a core network control entity, where the first report message carries information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, which is determined by the processor 172.

In practice, if the terminal triggers an X2 handover and the base station in the embodiment of the present invention is the source base station, the transceiver 171 is further configured to:

In this embodiment, if the terminal allocates resources for the neighboring communication of the terminal before performing the X2 handover, optionally, the transceiver 171 sends the X2 handover request to the target base station, and also carries the information of the resources allocated by the source base station for the neighboring communication of the terminal.

Of course, in this case, the transceiver 171 may not notify the target base station of the information of the resource allocated by the source base station for the neighbor communication of the terminal.

In practice, if the terminal triggers an X2 handover and the bs in the embodiment of the present invention is a target bs, the processor 172 is configured to:

after receiving an X2 handover request sent by a source base station, the transceiver 171 determines information related to the neighbor communication of the terminal, where the X2 handover request carries indication information for indicating a target base station to report the information related to the neighbor communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal.

In an implementation, if the terminal triggers S1 handover and the base station in the embodiment of the present invention is a target base station, the processor 172 is configured to:

after receiving the S1 handover request sent by the target core network control entity, the transceiver 171 determines information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal, where the S1 handover request carries indication information for indicating the target base station to report the information related to the neighboring communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal.

Based on any of the above embodiments, when the base station detects that the time for no data transmission between the terminal and the core network exceeds the set time threshold, the base station will initiate a release process of S1 connection, release the S1 connection between the base station and the core network, and thereafter the UE will enter an idle state. In this embodiment of the present invention, as an optional implementation manner, the processor 172 is further configured to: when it is determined that there is no data transmission between the terminal and the core network, the release procedure of the S1 connection is not initiated.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method for charging for proximity communication, the method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein before the gateway obtains the information related to the terminal's proximity communication reported by the base station, the method further comprises:

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the gateway instructing the base station to report information related to the terminal's proximity communication comprises: the gateway sends first control information used for indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal to a core network control entity, so that the core network control entity indicates the base station to report the information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal;

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the method further comprises:

5. The method of claim 4, wherein after receiving the first control information, if the terminal triggers S1 handover, the core network control entity further comprises:

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the information reported by the base station includes at least one of the following information: the base station comprises first indication information used for indicating the beginning of the adjacent communication of the terminal, second indication information used for indicating the ending of the adjacent communication of the terminal and related information of resources allocated to the adjacent communication of the terminal by the base station.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the information on the resources allocated by the base station for the neighbor communication of the terminal comprises an allocated resource amount.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the information reported by the base station further comprises: quality of service (QoS) information corresponding to proximity communication of the terminal.

9. A method for charging for proximity communication, the method comprising:

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the base station determining information related to proximity communication with the terminal comprises:

11. The method of claim 10,

the base station receiving the indication information indicating that the gateway indicates the base station to report the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, includes: the base station receives second control information sent by a core network control entity, wherein the second control information comprises indication information used for indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal;

12. The method according to any of claims 10 to 11, wherein if the terminal triggers an X2 handover and the base station is a source base station, after the base station receives indication information indicating that the gateway indicates the base station to report information related to the terminal's proximity communication, the method further comprises:

13. The method of claim 9, wherein if the terminal triggered an X2 handover and the base station is a target base station, the base station determines information related to terminal proximity communication, comprising:

14. The method of claim 9, wherein if the terminal triggered S1 handover and the base station is a target base station, the base station determines information related to the terminal' S proximity communication, comprising:

15. The method of claim 9, wherein after the base station reports the information related to the terminal's proximity communication determined by the base station to the gateway, the method further comprises:

16. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11 and 13 to 14, wherein the information related to the terminal's proximity communication determined by the base station comprises at least one of the following information:

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the base station determining information related to proximity communication with the terminal comprises:

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the information on the resources allocated by the base station for the neighbor communication of the terminal comprises an allocated resource amount.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the information related to the neighbor communications of the terminal determined by the base station further comprises quality of service (QoS) information corresponding to the neighbor communications of the terminal.

20. A gateway, characterized in that the gateway comprises:

21. The gateway of claim 20, wherein the first processing module, before acquiring the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal reported by the base station, is further configured to:

22. The gateway according to claim 21, wherein the first processing module instructs the base station to report information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, specifically:

23. The gateway according to any of claims 20 to 22, wherein the information reported by the base station comprises at least one of the following information: the base station comprises first indication information used for indicating the beginning of the adjacent communication of the terminal, second indication information used for indicating the ending of the adjacent communication of the terminal and related information of resources allocated to the adjacent communication of the terminal by the base station.

24. A base station, comprising:

25. The base station of claim 24, wherein the determining module is specifically configured to:

26. The base station of claim 25, wherein the determining module is specifically configured to: receiving second control information sent by a core network control entity, wherein the second control information comprises indication information used for indicating the base station to report information related to the adjacent communication of the terminal and identification information of the terminal;

27. The base station according to any of claims 24 to 26, wherein if the terminal triggers an X2 handover and the base station is a source base station, the base station further comprises:

28. The base station of claim 24, wherein if the terminal triggers an X2 handover and the base station is a target base station, the determining module is specifically configured to:

29. The base station of claim 24, wherein if the terminal triggers S1 handover and the base station is a target base station, the determining module is specifically configured to:

30. The base station according to any of claims 24 to 26 and 28 to 29, wherein after the reporting module reports the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal, which is determined by the determining module, to the gateway, the determining module is further configured to:

31. The base station of any of claims 24-26 and 28-29, wherein the information related to the proximity communication of the terminal determined by the determining module comprises at least one of the following information: the base station comprises first indication information used for indicating the beginning of the adjacent communication of the terminal, second indication information used for indicating the ending of the adjacent communication of the terminal and related information of resources allocated to the adjacent communication of the terminal by the base station.

32. The base station of claim 31, wherein the determining module determines information related to proximity communication of the terminal, comprising: