CN106162596B

CN106162596B - Usage information determining method, sending method, receiving method and device

Info

Publication number: CN106162596B
Application number: CN201510202033.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 周晓云; 吴锦花
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2015-04-24
Filing date: 2015-04-24
Publication date: 2020-11-20
Anticipated expiration: 2035-04-24
Also published as: WO2016169457A1; CN106162596A

Abstract

The invention provides a usage information determining method, a usage information sending method, a usage information receiving method and a usage information receiving device, wherein the usage information determining method comprises the following steps: the policy and charging enforcement function entity (PCEF) sends first quantity information before a chargeable main body changes to a server of a third party application, wherein the first quantity information is information of the usage amount of User Equipment (UE) accessing the third party application before the chargeable main body changes, the first quantity information is used for the server of the third party application to determine second quantity information, and the second quantity information is information of the usage amount of the UE accessing the third party application, which is paid for the UE by a provider of the third party application. The invention solves the problem of charging error in the related technology, thereby achieving the effect of reducing the charging error.

Description

Usage information determining method, sending method, receiving method and device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a usage information determining method, a usage information sending method, a usage information receiving method, and a usage information receiving apparatus.

Background

Policy and Charging Control (PCC) architecture of the third Generation Partnership Project (3rd Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP for short) is a functional framework that can be applied to multiple access technologies. For example, the present invention is applied to a Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UMTS) of a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), UTRAN for short, a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM)/GSM Data Enhanced Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (EDGE for short), an interworking wireless local area Network (I-WLAN), and an Evolved Packet System (EPS for short) and the like.

Fig. 1 is a first schematic diagram of a Rel-8PCC non-roaming architecture in the related art, and various logical functional entities and interface functions thereof in the PCC architecture are described below with reference to fig. 1:

an Application Function entity (AF) provides access points for service applications, and network resources used by the service applications need to be dynamically policy-controlled. When the service plane carries out parameter negotiation, the AF transmits relevant service information to a Policy and Charging Rules Function entity (PCRF for short), and if the service information is consistent with the Policy of the PCRF, the PCRF accepts the negotiation; otherwise, the PCRF refuses the negotiation and simultaneously gives out the service parameters acceptable by the PCRF in the feedback. The AF may then return these parameters to the User Equipment (UE for short). Wherein, the interface between the AF and the PCRF is an Rx interface.

The PCRF is the core of the PCC and is responsible for policy decision and charging rule making. The PCRF provides network Control rules based on traffic data flows, which include monitoring, Gating (Gating Control), Quality of Service (QoS) Control of the traffic data flows, and charging rules based on the traffic data flows. The PCRF sends the Policy and Charging rules formulated by the PCRF to a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (Policy and Charging Enforcement Function, abbreviated as PCEF) for execution, and meanwhile, the PCRF needs to ensure that the rules are consistent with subscription information of the user. The basis for the PCRF to formulate the policy and charging rules comprises the following steps: acquiring information related to the service from the AF; acquiring user policy charging control Subscription information from a Subscription database (Subscription Profile Repository, abbreviated as SPR); information of a bearer-related network is acquired from a PCEF.

And the PCEF is used for executing the policy and charging rules formulated by the PCRF on the bearing surface. The PCEF monitors the service data flows according to the service data flow filters in the rules sent by the PCRF, and then executes the policy and charging rules formulated by the PCRF on the service data flows. When the load is established, the PCEF carries out QoS authorization according to the rule sent by the PCRF, and carries out gating control according to the execution of the AF. According to the charging rules sent by the PCRF, the PCEF performs a corresponding service data flow charging operation, and the charging may be either online charging or offline charging. In case of Online Charging, the PCEF needs to perform credit management together with an Online Charging System (OCS). During Offline Charging, relevant Charging information is exchanged between the PCEF and an Offline Charging System (OFCS). The interface between the PCEF and the PCRF is a Gx interface, the interface between the PCEF and the OCS is a Gy interface, and the interface between the PCEF and the OFCS is a Gz interface. The PCEF is typically located within a Gateway (Gateway-Way, abbreviated GW) of the network, such as a GPRS Gateway Support Node (GGSN) in GPRS and a Packet Data Gateway (PDG) in I-WLAN.

Bearer Binding and Event Reporting Function (BBERF) entities, whose functions include Bearer Binding, verification of uplink Bearer Binding, and Event Reporting. When UE is accessed through E-UTRAN and PMIPv6 protocol is adopted between S-GW and P-GW, BBERF is located at S-GW, when UE is accessed through trusted non-3 GPP access system, BBERF is located at trusted non-3 GPP access Gateway, when UE is accessed through untrusted non-3 GPP access system, BBERF is located at Evolved Packet Data Gateway (ePDG for short). At this point, the PCEF no longer performs the bearer binding function.

The subscriber subscription database (SPR) stores subscriber policy charging control subscription information relating to policy control and charging. The interface between the SPR and the PCRF is an Sp interface.

And an Online Charging System (OCS) which controls and manages the user credit in an online charging mode together with the PCEF.

And the offline charging system (OFCS) and the PCEF together complete the charging operation in the offline charging mode.

The PCC architecture realizes policy charging control over an IP Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session established by the UE for accessing a Packet Data Network (PDN) through each functional entity.

With the development of the mobile internet, an operator needs to communicate with a third-party data application provider to guarantee the QoS for the services provided by the third-party data application provider. Due to the Diameter protocol adopted by the Rx interface supported by PCC at present, most third party data application providers are better at developing SOAP, REST based protocols. The research in the industry currently supports the Rx interface based on SOAP/REST protocol with PCC architecture. A logic function called Protocol Converter (PC for short) is directly set in PCRF and AF for converting SOAP or REST Protocol into Diameter, which may be shown in fig. 2, where fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a Rel-8PCC non-roaming architecture in the related art. In this case, the logic Function is also referred to as an Application Access Control (AAC) functional entity or a Service Capability Exposure Function (Service Capability Exposure Function).

The third party data application provider may change the chargeable party (chargeable party) of the session service during session initiation or session, i.e. the user accessing the service is charged or the third party service provider is charged.

For a scenario in which a chargeable entity is changed during a session, since there is a time gap between when a third party application provider initiates a change request to a PCRF and when a PCEF executes a charging policy according to a policy updated by the PCRF, a certain charging error may be generated during the time gap. For a single access of a single user, the charging error is relatively small, but considering that a large number of users access a third-party data application, a very large accumulated error occurs when an operator settles the fee for the third-party application. This error will be very alarming considering that the rate offered by future networks will be faster and faster. Especially considering the architecture of existing PC/AAC, the delay of message delivery is bound to increase due to the appearance of new network elements. Therefore, there is a problem of billing error in the related art.

Aiming at the problem of charging error in the related art, no effective solution is provided at present.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a usage information determining method, a usage information sending method, a usage information receiving method and a usage information receiving device, and aims to at least solve the problem of charging errors in the related art.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a usage information determining method, including: the method comprises the steps that a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) entity sends first volume information before a chargeable main body changes to a server of a third party application, wherein the first volume information is information of usage of User Equipment (UE) accessing the third party application before the chargeable main body changes, the first volume information is used for the server of the third party application to determine second volume information, and the second volume information is information of usage of the UE accessing the third party application paid by a provider of the third party application for the UE.

Further, the first quantity information includes information of flow and/or duration used by the UE when accessing the third-party application before the chargeable main body changes; the second amount information includes information of traffic and/or duration paid by a provider of the third party application for the UE to access the third party application.

Further, if the chargeable main body before the change is the UE, the second usage information is third usage information minus the first usage information, where the third usage information is a total usage amount of the UE accessing the third party application before and after the change of the chargeable main body, which is counted by the server of the third party application; if the chargeable subject before the change is the provider of the third party application, the second amount information is the first amount information.

Further, before the PCEF sends the first volume information before the change of the chargeable body to the server of the third party application, the method further includes: the PCEF determines a usage metering method for metering the first usage information, wherein the PCEF and the server of the third party application adopt the same usage metering method; and the PCEF measures the first quantity information according to the determined quantity measuring method.

Further, the PCEF determining a usage metering method for metering the first usage information includes: and the PCEF receives a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule sent by a Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF), wherein the PCC rule carries indication information of the usage metering method, and the PCRF determines the usage metering method which is the same as that of a server of the third party application according to a provider of the third party application.

Further, the server of the third party application provides, to the PCRF, indication information of the usage metering method adopted by the server of the third party application, and the PCRF determines the usage metering method adopted by the PCEF according to the indication information of the usage metering method provided by the server of the third party application.

Further, the PCEF measures the first quantity information according to the determined quantity measuring method, wherein the PCEF comprises at least one of the following steps: the PCEF determines first quantity information in a mode of statistics by the PCEF according to the determined quantity metering method; the PCEF determines the first volume information according to the determined volume metering method in a mode that the PCEF interacts with an Online Charging System (OCS); and the PCEF determines the first quantity information in an interactive mode between the PCEF and an off-line charging system OFCS according to the determined quantity metering method.

Further, the sending, by the PCEF, the first quantity information to the server of the third party application includes at least one of: the PCEF sends the first volume information to a Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF), the PCRF sends the first volume information to an Application Function (AF), and the AF reports the first volume information to a server applied by a third party; the PCEF sends the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, the PCRF sends the first volume information to an application function AF through a protocol converter PC, an application access control AAC or a service capability development function SCEF, and the AF reports the first volume information to a server applied by a third party.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a usage information transmitting method including: the policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF sends first volume information before a chargeable body changes to an application function AF, where the first volume information is information of a usage amount used by the user equipment UE to access a third party application before the chargeable body changes.

Further, the first amount information includes a time and/or a traffic used to access the third party application.

Further, the sending, by the PCEF, the first amount information to the AF includes at least one of: the PCEF sends the first volume information to a Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF), and the PCRF sends the first volume information to the AF; and the PCEF sends the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, and the PCRF sends the first volume information to the AF through a protocol converter PC, an application access control AAC or a service capability development function SCEF.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a usage information determining method including: a server of a third party application receives first volume information sent by a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF), wherein the first volume information is information of the usage of User Equipment (UE) accessing the third party application before a chargeable main body changes; and the server of the third party application determines second quantity information according to the first quantity information, wherein the second quantity information is information of the use amount paid by the provider of the third party application for the UE to access the third party application.

Further, the determining, by the server of the third-party application, the second amount information according to the first amount information includes: if the chargeable main body before the change is the UE, the server of the third party application subtracts the first quantity information from third quantity information to obtain the second quantity information, wherein the third quantity information is the total quantity of the UE accessing the third party application before and after the change of the chargeable main body, which is counted by the server of the third party application; if the chargeable main body before the change is the provider of the third party application, the server of the third party application determines the first volume information as the second volume information.

Further, before the server of the third party application determines the second amount information according to the first amount information, the method further includes: the server of the third party application determines a usage metering method for metering the third usage information; and metering the third volume information by the server of the third party application according to the determined volume metering method.

Further, the determining, by the server of the third-party application, a usage metering method for metering the third usage information includes: the server of the third party application determines the usage metering method in a mode of signing a contract with an operator of the third party application; and the server of the third party application determines the usage metering method in a dynamic negotiation mode with an operator of the third party application.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a usage information receiving method including: the Application Function (AF) receives first volume information before a chargeable main body is changed, which is sent by a policy and charging enforcement function entity (PCEF), wherein the first volume information is information of a volume used by User Equipment (UE) for accessing a third party application before the chargeable main body is changed.

Further, the receiving, by the AF, the first amount information sent by the PCEF includes: and the AF receives the first volume information sent by the PCEF through a Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF).

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a usage information determining apparatus, which is applied in a policy and charging enforcement function entity, PCEF, and includes: the first sending module is configured to send first quantity information before a chargeable main body changes to a server of a third party application, where the first quantity information is information of a usage amount of a User Equipment (UE) accessing the third party application before the chargeable main body changes, the first quantity information is used by the server of the third party application to determine second quantity information, and the second quantity information is information of the usage amount of the UE accessing the third party application, which is paid by a provider of the third party application for the UE.

Further, the apparatus further comprises: a first determining module, configured to determine a usage metering method for metering the first usage information, where the PCEF and the server of the third-party application use the same usage metering method; and the first metering module is used for metering the first amount information according to the determined amount metering method.

Further, the first determining module comprises: a first receiving unit, configured to receive a policy and charging control PCC rule sent by a policy and charging rule function PCRF, where the PCC rule carries indication information of the usage metering method, and the PCRF determines, according to a provider of the third-party application, a usage metering method that is the same as that of a server of the third-party application.

Further, the first metering module includes at least one of: the PCEF determines first quantity information in a mode of statistics by the PCEF according to the determined quantity metering method; the PCEF determines the first volume information according to the determined volume metering method in a mode that the PCEF interacts with an Online Charging System (OCS); and the PCEF determines the first quantity information in an interactive mode between the PCEF and an off-line charging system OFCS according to the determined quantity metering method.

Further, the first transmitting module includes at least one of: a first sending unit, configured to send the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, where the PCRF sends the first volume information to an application function AF, and the AF reports the first volume information to a server of the third party application; and a second sending unit, configured to send the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, where the PCRF sends the first volume information to an application function AF through a protocol converter PC, an application access control AAC, or a service capability development function SCEF, and the AF reports the first volume information to a server applied by the third party.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a usage information sending apparatus, which is applied in a policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF, and includes: and a second sending module, configured to send first volume information before a chargeable body changes to an application function AF, where the first volume information is information of a volume used by the user equipment UE to access a third-party application before the chargeable body changes.

Further, the second sending module includes at least one of: a third sending unit, configured to send the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, where the PCRF sends the first volume information to the AF; and a fourth sending unit, configured to send the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, where the PCRF sends the first volume information to the AF through a protocol converter PC, an application access control AAC, or a service capability development function SCEF.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a usage information determining apparatus, which is applied to a server of a third-party application, including: a first receiving module, configured to receive first volume information sent by a policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF, where the first volume information is information of a volume of a third-party application accessed by user equipment UE before a chargeable body changes; a second determining module, configured to determine second amount information according to the first amount information, where the second amount information is information of an amount paid by a provider of the third-party application for the UE to access the third-party application.

Further, the second determining module includes: if the chargeable main body before the change is the UE, the server of the third party application subtracts the first quantity information from third quantity information to obtain the second quantity information, wherein the third quantity information is the total quantity of the UE accessing the third party application before and after the change of the chargeable main body, which is counted by the server of the third party application; if the chargeable main body before the change is the provider of the third party application, the server of the third party application determines the first volume information as the second volume information.

Further, the apparatus further comprises: a third determining module, configured to determine a usage metering method for metering the third usage information; and the second metering module is used for metering the third amount information according to the determined amount metering method.

Further, the third determining module includes at least one of: the first determining unit is used for determining the usage metering method in a mode of signing a contract with an operator of the third-party application; and the second determining unit is used for determining the usage metering method in a dynamic negotiation mode with the operator of the third-party application.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a usage information receiving apparatus, which is applied to an application function AF, including: a second receiving module, configured to receive first volume information before a chargeable body changes, where the first volume information is information of a volume used by the UE accessing the third-party application before the chargeable body changes, and the first volume information is sent by a policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF.

Further, the second receiving module comprises: a second receiving unit, configured to receive, through a policy and charging rule function PCRF, the first volume information sent by the PCEF.

According to the invention, the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) entity is adopted to send the first quantity information before the change of the chargeable main body to the server of the third party application, wherein the first quantity information is the information of the usage amount of the User Equipment (UE) accessing the third party application before the change of the chargeable main body, the first quantity information is used for the server of the third party application to determine the second quantity information, and the second quantity information is the information of the usage amount of the UE accessing the third party application, which is paid by the provider of the third party application for the UE, so that the problem of charging errors existing in the related technology is solved, and the effect of reducing the charging errors is further achieved.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the invention without limiting the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a first schematic diagram of a Rel-8PCC non-roaming architecture of the related art;

FIG. 2 is a diagram II of a Rel-8PCC non-roaming architecture in the related art;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a first usage information determination method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of a usage information transmitting method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a second usage information determination method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a flowchart of a usage information receiving method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a block diagram of the configuration of a first usage information determination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a block diagram of a preferred configuration of a first usage information determining apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first determining module 82 in the first usage information determining apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first sending module 72 in the first usage information determining apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a block diagram of a configuration of a usage information transmitting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a block diagram of a second transmission module 112 in the usage information transmission apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a second usage information determination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 14 is a block diagram of a preferred configuration of a second usage information determination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 15 is a block diagram showing the structure of a third determining module 142 in the second usage information determining apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 16 is a block diagram of a configuration of a usage information receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 17 is a block diagram of a second receiving module 162 in the usage information determining apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 18 is a flow chart of reporting usage according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 19 is a flow chart of reporting usage according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 20 is a flowchart of reporting a usage amount according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 21 is a flow chart of reporting a usage according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present application may be combined with each other without conflict.

In the present embodiment, a usage information determining method is provided, and fig. 3 is a flowchart of a first usage information determining method according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 3, the flowchart includes the following steps:

step S302, the policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF sends first volume information before the change of the chargeable body to a server of a third party application, where the first volume information is information of a usage amount of the user equipment UE accessing the third party application before the change of the chargeable body, the first volume information is used by the server of the third party application to determine second volume information, and the second volume information is information of the usage amount of the UE accessing the third party application, which is paid by a provider of the third party application for the UE.

The chargeable body may be a user equipment UE or a provider of a third party application, and a change of the chargeable body may enable a handover between the chargeable body and the third party application. Through the steps, when the chargeable main body is changed, the first volume information before the chargeable main body is changed is sent to the server of the third party application, so that the third party server can accurately measure the volume information which is paid for the User Equipment (UE) by the provider of the third party application, the charging precision is improved, the problem of charging errors in the related technology is solved, and the effect of reducing the charging errors is achieved.

When the UE accesses the third party application, the UE may perform charging in the time of access, may perform charging in the consumed traffic, and may also perform charging by integrating the time and the traffic, for example, dividing the traffic cost into a free time cost and a busy time cost. In an optional embodiment, the first quantity information includes information of a flow and/or a duration used by the UE to access the third party application before the chargeable body changes; the second quantity information includes information of the flow and/or duration paid by the provider of the third-party application for the UE to access the third-party application.

If the chargeable main body before the change is the UE, the second amount information is the third amount information minus the first amount information, and the third amount information is the total amount of the UE accessing the third party application before and after the change of the chargeable main body, which is counted by the server of the third party application; if the chargeable subject before the change is a provider of the third party application, the second volume information is the first volume information.

In an optional embodiment, before the sending, by the PCEF, the first amount information before the change of the chargeable body to the server of the third party application, the method further includes: the method comprises the steps that the PCEF determines a usage metering method used for metering first usage information, wherein the PCEF and a server of a third party application adopt the same usage metering method; and the PCEF measures the first quantity information according to the determined quantity measuring method.

The method for determining the usage amount by the PCEF to measure the first usage amount information includes: the PCEF receives a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule sent by a Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF), wherein the PCC rule carries indication information of a usage metering method, and the PCRF determines the usage metering method which is the same as that of a server applied by a third party according to a provider applied by the third party.

The server of the third party application provides indication information of the usage metering method adopted by the server of the third party application to the PCRF, and the PCRF determines the usage metering method adopted by the PCEF according to the indication information of the usage metering method provided by the server of the third party application.

In an optional embodiment, when the PCEF meters the first usage information according to the determined usage metering method, there may be a plurality of determination methods, and the determination methods may include at least one of: the PCEF determines first quantity information in a mode of statistics by the PCEF according to the determined quantity metering method; the PCEF determines first volume information in an interactive mode with an Online Charging System (OCS) through the PCEF according to the determined volume metering method; and the PCEF determines the first quantity information in an interactive mode between the PCEF and the OFCS according to the determined quantity metering method.

In an optional embodiment, the sending, by the PCEF, the first quantity information to the server of the third party application includes at least one of: the PCEF sends the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, the PCRF sends the first volume information to an AF, and the AF reports the first volume information to a server of a third party application; the PCEF sends the first quantity information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, the PCRF sends the first quantity information to the AF through a protocol converter PC, an application access control AAC or a service capability development function SCEF, and the AF reports the first quantity information to a server applied by a third party.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a usage information transmitting method according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4, the method includes the following steps:

step S402, the policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF sends the first volume information before the change of the chargeable body to the application function AF, where the first volume information is information of the used volume of the user equipment UE accessing the third party application before the change of the chargeable body.

Through the steps, when the chargeable main body changes, the PCEF sends the usage information of the UE before the change to the AF, so that the usage information of the third party application can be accessed by the UE before the chargeable main body changes, further, the subsequent charging is paved, and the charging precision is improved. The problem of charging error existing in the related technology is solved, and the effect of reducing the charging error is achieved.

When the UE accesses the third-party application, the UE may perform charging according to the time of access, may also perform charging according to the consumed traffic, and may further perform charging according to the time and the traffic, for example, divide the traffic cost into a free time cost and a busy time cost.

Wherein the sending, by the PCEF, the first amount information to the AF may include at least one of: the PCEF sends the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, and the PCRF sends the first volume information to the AF; the PCEF sends the first volume information to a policy and charging rules function PCRF, which sends the first volume information to the AF through a protocol converter PC, an application access control AAC, or a service capability development function SCEF.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a second usage information determining method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 5, the flowchart includes the following steps:

step S502, a server of a third party application receives first volume information sent by a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF), wherein the first volume information is information of the usage of User Equipment (UE) accessing the third party application before a chargeable main body changes;

step S504, the server of the third party application determines second usage information according to the first usage information, where the second usage information is information of usage amount paid by the provider of the third party application for the UE to access the third party application.

When the UE accesses the third party application, the UE may perform charging in the time of access, may perform charging in the consumed traffic, and may also perform charging by integrating the time and the traffic, for example, dividing the traffic cost into a free time cost and a busy time cost. In an optional embodiment, the first quantity information includes information of a flow and/or a duration used by the UE to access the third party application before the chargeable body changes; the second quantity information includes information of traffic and/or duration paid by the provider of the third-party application for the UE to access the third-party application.

In an optional embodiment, the determining, by the server of the third party application, the second amount information according to the first amount information includes: if the chargeable main body before the change is the UE, the server of the third party application subtracts the first quantity information from the third quantity information to obtain second quantity information, wherein the third quantity information is the total quantity of the UE accessing the third party application before and after the change of the chargeable main body, which is counted by the server of the third party application; if the chargeable subject before the change is the provider of the third party application, the server of the third party application determines the first volume information as the second volume information.

In an optional embodiment, before the determining, by the server of the third party application, the second amount information according to the first amount information, the method further includes: the server of the third party application determines a usage metering method for metering the third usage information; and the server of the third party application meters the third usage information according to the determined usage metering method.

The method for measuring the third usage information by the server of the third-party application comprises the following steps: the server of the third party application determines the usage metering method in a mode of signing a contract with an operator of the third party application; the server of the third party application determines the usage metering method in a dynamic negotiation mode with an operator of the third party application.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of a usage information receiving method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 6, the flowchart includes the following steps:

step S602, the application function AF receives first volume information before a chargeable body changes, which is sent by the policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF, where the first volume information is information of a volume used by the user equipment UE to access the third party application before the chargeable body changes.

When the UE accesses the third-party application, the UE may perform charging according to the access time, may perform charging according to the consumed traffic, and may further perform charging according to the time and the traffic, for example, divide the traffic cost into a free time cost and a busy time cost.

In an optional embodiment, the receiving, by the AF, the first volume information sent by the PCEF includes: the AF receives first volume information sent by the PCEF through a policy and charging rule function PCRF.

Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the method according to the above embodiments can be implemented by software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and certainly can also be implemented by hardware, but the former is a better implementation mode in many cases. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes instructions for enabling a terminal device (such as a mobile phone, a computer, a server, or a network device) to execute the method according to the embodiments of the present invention.

In this embodiment, a usage information determining apparatus is further provided, and the apparatus is used to implement the foregoing embodiments and preferred embodiments, and details of which have been already described are omitted. As used below, the term "module" may be a combination of software and/or hardware that implements a predetermined function. Although the means described in the embodiments below are preferably implemented in software, an implementation in hardware, or a combination of software and hardware is also possible and contemplated.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a first usage information determining apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to a policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF, and includes a first sending module 72, as shown in fig. 7, which is described below.

The first sending module 72 is configured to send first quantity information before the change of the billable main body to a server of a third party application, where the first quantity information is information of a usage amount of the UE accessing the third party application before the change of the billable main body, the first quantity information is used by the server of the third party application to determine second quantity information, and the second quantity information is information of the usage amount of the UE accessing the third party application, which is paid by a provider of the third party application for the UE.

The first quantity information comprises information of flow and/or duration used when the UE accesses the third-party application before the chargeable main body changes; the second quantity information includes information of the flow and/or duration paid by the provider of the third-party application for the UE to access the third-party application.

If the chargeable main body before the change is the UE, the second amount information is the third amount information minus the first amount information, and the third amount information is the total usage of the UE accessing the third party application before and after the change of the chargeable main body, which is counted by a server of the third party application; if the chargeable subject before the change is a provider of the third party application, the second volume information is the first volume information.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram of a preferred structure of a first usage information determining apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 8, the apparatus includes a first determining module 82 and a first metering module 84 in addition to the modules shown in fig. 7, and the apparatus will be described below.

A first determining module 82, configured to determine a usage metering method for metering the first usage information, where the PCEF and the server of the third-party application use the same usage metering method; and a first metering module 84, connected to the first determining module 82 and the first sending module 72, for metering the first usage information according to the determined usage metering method.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram of a first determining module 82 in the first usage information determining apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 9, the first determining module 82 includes a first receiving unit 92, and the first determining module 82 is explained as follows:

a first receiving unit 92, configured to receive a policy and charging control PCC rule sent by a policy and charging rule function PCRF, where the PCC rule carries indication information of a usage metering method, and the PCRF determines, according to a provider of a third party application, a usage metering method that is the same as that of a server of the third party application.

In an alternative embodiment, the first metering module 84 includes at least one of: the PCEF determines first quantity information in a mode of statistics by the PCEF according to the determined quantity metering method; the PCEF determines first volume information in an interactive mode with an Online Charging System (OCS) through the PCEF according to the determined volume metering method; and the PCEF determines the first quantity information in an interactive mode between the PCEF and the OFCS according to the determined quantity metering method.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a first sending module 72 in the first usage information determining apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, where, as shown in fig. 10, the first sending module 72 includes a first sending unit 102 and/or a second sending unit 104, and the first sending module 72 is described below.

A first sending unit 102, configured to send the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, where the PCRF sends the first volume information to an AF, and the AF reports the first volume information to a server of a third party application; a second sending unit 104, configured to send the first volume information to a policy and charging rules function PCRF, where the PCRF sends the first volume information to an AF through a protocol converter PC, an application access control AAC, or a service capability development function SCEF, and the AF reports the first volume information to a server applied by a third party.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram of a usage information sending apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to a policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF, and as shown in fig. 11, the usage information sending apparatus includes a second sending module 112, which is described below.

A second sending module 112, configured to send first volume information before the chargeable body changes to the application function AF, where the first volume information is information of a used volume of the user equipment UE accessing the third party application before the chargeable body changes.

The first quantity information comprises time and/or flow used for accessing the third-party application.

Fig. 12 is a block diagram of a second sending module 112 in the usage information sending apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 12, the second sending module 112 includes a third sending unit 122 and/or a fourth sending unit 124, and the second sending module 112 is explained below.

A third sending unit 122, configured to send the first volume information to a policy and charging rules function PCRF, where the PCRF sends the first volume information to an AF; a fourth sending unit 124, configured to send the first volume information to a policy and charging rules function PCRF, which sends the first volume information to the AF through the protocol converter PC, the application access control AAC, or the service capability development function SCEF.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram of a second usage information determining apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to a server of a third-party application, and includes a first receiving module 132 and a second determining module 134, and the apparatus is described below.

A first receiving module 132, configured to receive first volume information sent by a policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF, where the first volume information is information of a volume of a third party application accessed by user equipment UE before a chargeable body changes; a second determining module 134, connected to the first receiving module 132, configured to determine second amount information according to the first amount information, where the second amount information is information of an amount paid by a provider of a third-party application for the UE to access the third-party application.

The first quantity information comprises information of flow and/or duration used when the UE accesses the third-party application before the chargeable main body changes; the second amount information includes information of traffic and/or duration paid for the UE by the provider of the third party application for the UE to access the third party application.

In an alternative embodiment, the second determination module 134 includes: if the chargeable main body before the change is the UE, the server of the third party application subtracts the first quantity information from the third quantity information to obtain second quantity information, wherein the third quantity information is the total quantity of the UE accessing the third party application before and after the change of the chargeable main body, which is counted by the server of the third party application; if the chargeable subject before the change is the provider of the third party application, the server of the third party application determines the first volume information as the second volume information.

Fig. 14 is a block diagram of a preferred structure of a second usage information determination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 14, the apparatus includes a third determination module 142 and a second metering module 144 in addition to all the modules shown in fig. 13, and the apparatus will be described below.

A third determining module 142, configured to determine a usage metering method for metering the third usage information; and a second metering module 144, connected to the third determining module 142 and the first receiving module 132, for metering the third usage information according to the determined usage metering method.

Fig. 15 is a block diagram of a third determining module 142 in the second usage information determining apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 15, the third determining module 142 includes a first determining unit 152 and/or a second determining unit 154, and the third determining module 142 is explained below.

A first determining unit 152, configured to determine a usage metering method in a manner of contracting with an operator of a third-party application; a second determining unit 154, configured to determine the usage metering method through a dynamic negotiation with an operator of the third party application.

Fig. 16 is a block diagram of a usage information receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to an application function AF, and includes a second receiving module 162, as shown in fig. 16, and the apparatus will be described below.

A second receiving module 162, configured to receive first volume information before a chargeable body changes, where the first volume information is information of a volume used by the user equipment UE to access the third party application before the chargeable body changes, and the first volume information is sent by the policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF.

The first quantity information includes time and/or flow used for accessing the third-party application.

Fig. 17 is a block diagram of a second receiving module 162 in the usage information determining apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 17, the second receiving module 162 includes a second receiving unit 172, and the second receiving module 162 is described below.

A second receiving unit 172, configured to receive, through the policy and charging rule function PCRF, the first volume information sent by the PCEF.

The invention is illustrated below with reference to specific examples:

example one

This embodiment describes a procedure in which when a service is initiated, a chargeable entity is a user equipment UE, and during a service access process, the chargeable entity becomes a provider of a third-party application.

Fig. 18 is a flowchart of reporting a usage amount according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 18, the flowchart includes the following steps:

step S1802: the UE attaches to the network and establishes an IP-CAN session. In this procedure, a Gx session for policy and charging control is established between the PCEF and the PCRF. And if the IP-CAN session relates to the BBERF, establishing a gateway control session for policy control between the BBERF and the PCRF.

Step S1804: and the UE interacts with the third-party application server to initiate service access. In the service access process, the third-party application server may charge and count (Accounting) (also called Metering) the service access Usage Information (Usage Information) of the UE, where the Usage Information may be a flow and/or a duration.

Step S1806: and executing a specific interactive process between the third-party application server and the AF, and providing service information requested by the user to the application server or the AF.

Step S1808: and the AF sends a Diameter AAR message to the PCRF, and the Diameter AAR message carries service information.

Step S1810: and the PCRF returns an acknowledgement message to the AF.

Step S1812: and the PCRF formulates a PCC rule according to the information such as the service information, the network policy, the user appointment and the like. And if the BBERF exists, the PCRF also formulates a QoS rule according to the PCC rule.

Step S1814: the PCRF provides QoS rules to the BBERF.

Step S1816: the PCRF provides PCC rules to the PCEF. And the PCEF executes the PCC rule, charges the third-party service accessed by the UE according to the charging strategy in the PCC rule, and counts (also called measures) the usage information generated by the service accessed by the UE. The usage information may be flow and/or duration. The charging is for the UE.

Step S1818: in the process that the UE accesses the third-party service, the third-party application decides to sponsor the third-party service that the UE is accessing, the application server interacts with the AF and sends an indication of the sponsored service, a sponsor identifier and an application provider identifier to the AF.

Step S1820: and the AF sends an AAR message to the PCRF, wherein the message carries sponsored data connection information comprising a sponsor identifier and an application provider identifier.

Step S1822: after the PCRF saves the information, a confirmation message is returned;

step S1824: and the PCRF updates the PCC rules made before according to the policy decision. The PCRF validates a corresponding Charging key (Charging key) based on the sponsor identification and the application provider identification and/or the PCRF adds the sponsor identification and the application provider identification in the PCC rules.

Step S1826: the PCRF provides PCC rules to the PCEF.

Step S1828: the PCEF returns an acknowledgement message to the PCRF, and carries, in the message, the cumulative usage information (which may be traffic and/or duration) before the chargeable body is switched in the current service access of the UE. The PCEF may count (also called metering) the cumulative usage information since the UE initiates the service, or may obtain the cumulative usage information since the UE initiates the service by interacting with a charging system (OCS or OFCS).

Step S1830: and the PCRF sends an RAR message to the AF, wherein the message carries the accumulated usage information.

Step S1832: the AF returns an acknowledgement message.

Step S1834: the AF reports information about the usage accumulation to the third party application server.

The AF and the third party application server may be deployed independently from each other in terms of implementation, and the AF may be integrated on the third party application server. Regardless of the deployment, from the PCRF perspective, interworking between the PCRF and the AF may also be considered as interworking between the PCRF and a third party application server.

Example two

This embodiment describes a procedure in which, in a scenario where a PC/AAC/SCEF exists, when a service is initiated, a chargeable main body is a user equipment UE, and becomes a third-party application provider during a service access process.

Fig. 19 is a flowchart of reporting usage according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 19, the flowchart includes the following steps:

step S1902: the UE attaches to the network and establishes an IP-CAN session. In this procedure, a Gx session for policy and charging control is established between the PCEF and the PCRF. And if the IP-CAN session relates to the BBERF, establishing a gateway control session for policy control between the BBERF and the PCRF.

Step S1904: and the UE interacts with the third-party application server to initiate service access. In the service access process, the third-party application server may charge the service access of the UE and count (also called measure) the usage information of the UE access, where the usage information may be a flow and/or a duration.

Step S1906: and the third-party application server executes a specific interactive process with the AF, and provides the service information requested by the user for the AF.

Step S1908: and the AF sends HTTP POST to the PC/AAC/SCEF, and the message carries service information.

Step S1910: and the PC/AAC/SCEF sends a Diameter AAR message to the PCRF, wherein the Diameter AAR message carries service information.

Step S1912: and the PCRF returns an acknowledgement message to the AF.

Step S1914: and the PC/AAC/SCEF returns an acknowledgement message to the AF.

Step S1916: and the PCRF formulates a PCC rule according to the information such as the service information, the network policy, the user appointment and the like. And if the BBERF exists, the PCRF also formulates a QoS rule according to the PCC rule.

Step S1918: the PCRF provides QoS rules to the BBERF.

Step S1920: the PCRF provides PCC rules to the PCEF. And the PCEF executes the PCC rules and carries out statistics (also called metering) on the third-party service accessed by the UE according to the charging strategy in the PCC rules, wherein the usage information is generated by the service accessed by the UE. The usage information may be flow and/or duration. The charging is for the user (the chargeable subject is the UE).

Step S1922: in the process that the UE accesses the third-party service, the third-party application determines to sponsor the third-party service which the UE is accessing, the third-party application server interacts with the AF and sends an indication of the sponsored service, a sponsor identifier and an application provider identifier to the AF.

Step S1924: and the AF sends an HTTP PUT message to the PC/AAC/SCEF, wherein the message carries sponsored data connection information which comprises sponsor identification and application provider identification.

Step S1926: and the PC/AAC/SCEF sends an AAR message to the PCRF, wherein the message carries sponsored data connection information which comprises sponsor identification and application provider identification.

Step S1928: and after the PCRF stores the information, returning a confirmation message to the PC/AAC.

Step S1930: and the PC/AAC/SCEF returns an acknowledgement message to the AF.

Step S1932: and the PCRF updates the PCC rules made before according to the policy decision. The PCRF validates a corresponding Charging key (Charging key) based on the sponsor identification and the application provider identification and/or the PCRF adds the sponsor identification and the application provider identification in the PCC rules.

Step S1934: the PCRF provides PCC rules to the PCEF.

Step S1936: the PCEF returns an acknowledgement message to the PCRF, and carries, in the message, the cumulative usage information (which may be traffic and/or duration) before the chargeable body is switched in the current service access of the UE. The PCEF may count (also called metering) the accumulated usage amount since the UE initiates the service, or may obtain the accumulated usage amount information since the UE initiates the service by interacting with a charging system (OCS or OFCS).

Step S1938: and the PCRF sends an RAR message to the PC/AAC, wherein the message carries the accumulated usage information.

Step S1940: and the PC/AAC sends HTTP PUT message to AF, and the message carries the accumulated usage information.

Step S1942: the AF returns an acknowledgement message to the PC/AAC.

Step S1944: and the PC/AAC returns an acknowledgement message to the PCRF.

Step S1946: the AF reports to the application server specific messages to the third party application server, e.g. to cumulative usage information.

Through the procedures of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the third-party application provider obtains the accumulated usage information generated by the user (the same as the UE described above) accessing the third-party data application before the gateway performs the change of the billable subject policy. This portion of the accumulated usage information is assumed by the user. Meanwhile, the third-party data application can count the usage information of the third-party data accessed by the user. Thus, the third-party data application provider can accurately know the accumulated usage information of the real sponsored third-party data application. If the chargeable main body is always the third party application by the time the UE finishes the service access, the amount sponsored by the third party application provider is the amount of the third party data accessed by the user counted by the third party data application, minus the accumulated amount information born by the user before the change of the chargeable main body reported by the gateway.

The AF and the third party application server may be deployed independently from each other in terms of implementation, or the AF may be integrated on the third party application server. Regardless of the deployment, from the perspective of PC/AAC/SCEF, the interworking of PCRFPC/AAC/SCEF with AF may also be considered as the interworking of PC/AAC/SCEF with third party application servers.

EXAMPLE III

This embodiment describes a procedure in which a chargeable party is a third party application provider when initiating a service, and becomes a UE during a service access process.

Fig. 20 is a flowchart of a usage reporting process according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 20, the process includes the following steps:

step S2002: the UE attaches to the network and establishes an IP-CAN session. In this procedure, a Gx session for policy and charging control is established between the PCEF and the PCRF. And if the IP-CAN session relates to the BBERF, establishing a gateway control session for policy control between the BBERF and the PCRF.

Step S2004: and the UE interacts with the third-party application server to initiate service access. In the service access process, the third-party application server may charge the service access of the UE and count (also called measure) the usage information of the UE access, where the usage information may be a flow and/or a duration.

Step S2006: and performing a specific interactive process between the third-party application server and the AF, and providing service information requested by the user to the AF by the application server, wherein the third-party application determines a data application accessed by a sponsoring user, the third-party application server provides an indication of the sponsoring service, a sponsor identifier and an application provider identifier to the AF.

Step S2008: AF sends Diameter AAR message to PCRF, carrying service information, and sponsored data connection information, including sponsor identification and application provider identification.

Step S2010: and the PCRF returns an acknowledgement message to the AF.

Step S2012: and the PCRF formulates a PCC rule according to the information such as the service information, the network policy, the user appointment and the like. The PCRF validates a corresponding Charging key (Charging key) based on the sponsor identification and the application provider identification and/or the PCRF adds the sponsor identification and the application provider identification in the PCC rules. And if the BBERF exists, the PCRF also formulates a QoS rule according to the PCC rule.

Step S2014: the PCRF provides QoS rules to the BBERF.

Step S2016: the PCRF provides PCC rules to the PCEF. And the PCEF executes the PCC rule, charges the third-party service accessed by the UE according to the charging strategy in the PCC rule, and counts (also called measures) the usage information generated by the service accessed by the UE. The usage information may be flow and/or duration. The charging is for a third party application provider.

Step S2018: in the process that the UE accesses the third-party service, the third-party application determines to cancel the third-party service which the sponsored UE accesses, and the third-party application server interacts with the AF and sends an indication of canceling the sponsorship to the AF.

Step S2020: and the AF sends an AAR message to the PCRF, wherein the message carries the cancelled sponsorship indication.

Step S2022: and after the PCRF stores the information, returning a confirmation message.

Step S2024: and the PCRF updates the PCC rules made before according to the policy decision and carries the indication of canceling the sponsorship. The PCRF carries other charging keys capable of charging the user in the PCC rules.

Step S2026: the PCRF provides PCC rules to the PCEF.

Step S2028: the PCEF returns an acknowledgement message to the PCRF, and carries, in the message, the cumulative usage information (which may be traffic and/or duration) before the chargeable body is switched in the current service access of the UE. The PCEF may count (also called metering) the cumulative usage information since the UE initiates the service, or may obtain the cumulative usage information since the UE initiates the service by interacting with a charging system (OCS or OFCS).

Step S2030: and the PCRF sends an RAR message to the AF, wherein the message carries the accumulated usage information.

Step S2032: the AF returns an acknowledgement message.

Step S2034: the AF reports to the application server specific messages to the third party application server, such as to the cumulative usage.

The AF and the third party application server may be deployed independently from each other in terms of implementation, or the AF may be integrated on the third party application server. Regardless of the deployment, from the PCRF perspective, interworking between the PCRF and the AF may also be considered as interworking between the PCRF and a third party application server.

Example four

Fig. 21 is a flowchart of reporting usage according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 21, the flowchart includes the following steps:

step S2102: the UE attaches to the network and establishes an IP-CAN session. In this procedure, a Gx session for policy and charging control is established between the PCEF and the PCRF. And if the IP-CAN session relates to the BBERF, establishing a gateway control session for policy control between the BBERF and the PCRF.

Step S2104: and the UE interacts with the third-party application server to initiate service access. In the service access process, the third-party application server may charge the service access of the UE, and count (also referred to as measure) the traffic and/or duration of the UE access.

Step S2106: and performing a specific interactive process between the third-party application server and the AF, and providing service information requested by the user to the AF by the application server, wherein the third-party application determines a data application accessed by a sponsoring user, the third-party application server provides an indication of the sponsoring service, a sponsor identifier and an application provider identifier to the AF.

Step S2108: and the AF sends an HTTP POST message to the PC/AAC/SCEF, wherein the message carries service information and sponsored data connection information, and the message comprises a sponsor identifier and an application provider identifier.

Step S2110: and the PC/AAC/SCEF sends an AAR message to the PCRF, wherein the AAR message carries service information and sponsored data connection information, and the sponsored data connection information comprises a sponsor identifier and an application provider identifier.

Step S2112: and the PCRF returns an acknowledgement message to the PC/AAC/SCEF.

Step S2114: the PC/AACSCEF returns an acknowledgement message to the AF.

Step S2116: and the PCRF formulates a PCC rule according to the information such as the service information, the network policy, the user appointment and the like. The PCRF validates a corresponding Charging key (Charging key) based on the sponsor identification and the application provider identification and/or the PCRF adds the sponsor identification and the application provider identification in the PCC rules. And if the BBERF exists, the PCRF also formulates a QoS rule according to the PCC rule.

Step S2118: the PCRF provides QoS rules to the BBERF.

Step S2120: the PCRF provides PCC rules to the PCEF. And the PCEF executes the PCC rule, charges the third-party service accessed by the UE according to the charging strategy in the PCC rule, and counts (also called measures) the usage information generated by the service accessed by the UE. The usage information may be flow and/or duration. The charging is for a third party application provider.

Step S2122: in the process that the UE accesses the third-party service, the third-party application determines to cancel the third-party service which the sponsored UE accesses, and the third-party application server interacts with the AF and sends an indication of canceling the sponsorship to the AF.

Step S2124: and the AF sends an HTTP PUT message to the PC/AAC/SCEF, wherein the message carries the cancelled sponsorship indication.

Step S2126: and the PC/AAC/SCEF sends an AAR message to the PCRF, wherein the message carries the cancelled sponsorship indication.

Step S2128: and after the PCRF stores the information, returning a confirmation message to the PC/AAC.

Step S2130: and the PC/AAC/SCEF returns an acknowledgement message to the AF.

Step S2132: and the PCRF updates the PCC rules made before according to the policy decision and carries the indication of canceling the sponsorship. The PCRF carries other charging keys capable of charging the user in the PCC rules.

Step S2134: the PCRF provides PCC rules to the PCEF.

Step S2136: the PCEF returns an acknowledgement message to the PCRF, and carries, in the message, the cumulative usage information (which may be traffic and/or duration) before the chargeable body is switched in the current service access of the UE. The PCEF may count (also called metering) the cumulative usage information since the UE initiates the service, or may obtain the cumulative usage information since the UE initiates the service by interacting with a charging system (OCS or OFCS).

Step S2138: and the PCRF sends an RAR message to the PC/AAC, wherein the message carries the accumulated usage information.

Step S2140: and the PC/AAC sends an RAR message to the AF, wherein the message carries the accumulated usage information.

Step S2142: the AF returns an acknowledgement message to the PC/AAC.

Step S2144: and the PC/AAC returns an acknowledgement message to the PCRF.

Step S2146: the AF reports to the third party application server specific messages, such as cumulative usage information.

Through the procedures of the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment, the third party application provider obtains the usage information sponsored by the third party application provider before the gateway executes the change chargeable body policy. If the chargeable main body is always the UE when the UE finishes service access, the accumulated usage information sponsored by the third party application provider before the chargeable main body is changed is reported by the usage gateway sponsored by the third party application provider.

The AF and the third party application server may be deployed independently from each other in terms of implementation, or the AF may be integrated on the third party application server. Regardless of the deployment, from the perspective of the PCRFPC/AAC/SCEF, the interworking of the PC/AAC/SCEF and the AF can also be considered as the interworking of the PC/AAC/SCEF and a third party application server.

In all the above embodiments, the same usage charging method is used by both the operator and all the third party application providers (the operator and all the third party application providers use duration charging, traffic charging, or both duration and traffic charging). In other embodiments, the measurement method may also be differentiated, and one of the following two methods may be adopted:

1) the operator and the third party application provider may have a subscription agreement to decide on a fixed Metering Method. For example, if the operator a and the third-party application provider a sign a statistics according to the flow metering method, after the UE accesses the third-party application, the third-party application server determines that the user UE accesses the service through the operator a, and the flow is used as the usage information at the third-party application server; and when the PCRF makes a policy decision, a metering method is determined according to a third party application provider providing the service, the PCC rule carries an indication that the metering method is the flow, and the PCEF counts the flow generated by the service accessed by the user according to the indication of the metering method. When the chargeable body changes, the PCEF returns traffic information to the PCRF, and further the PCRF returns traffic information to the AF. The adopted time length or the measuring method of the time length and the flow at the same time is similar and is not described again.

2) The operator and the third party application provider dynamically negotiate a metering method. For example, if the operator a signs up with the third party application provider a, the duration, the traffic, or both the duration and the traffic may be used for charging. After the UE accesses the third-party application, the third-party application server judges that the user UE accesses the service through the operator A, the third-party application server can determine one of the three methods as a metering method of the service direction, and if the third-party application server determines to adopt a flow charging method, the third-party application server sends an indication that the metering method is the flow to the PCRF together with the service information; and when the PCRF makes a policy decision, according to the indication of the third-party application server, the PCC rule carries the indication that the metering method is the flow, and the PCEF counts the flow generated by the user access service according to the indication of the metering method. When the chargeable body changes, the PCEF returns traffic information to the PCRF, and further the PCRF returns traffic information to the AF. The adopted time length or the measuring method of the time length and the flow at the same time is similar and is not described again.

It should be noted that, the above modules may be implemented by software or hardware, and for the latter, the following may be implemented, but not limited to: the modules are all positioned in the same processor; alternatively, the modules are respectively located in a plurality of processors.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a storage medium. Alternatively, in the present embodiment, the storage medium may be configured to store program codes for performing the following steps:

s1, the policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF sends the first volume information before the change of the chargeable body to a server of the third party application, where the first volume information is information of a usage amount of the user equipment UE accessing the third party application before the change of the chargeable body, the first volume information is used by the server of the third party application to determine second volume information, and the second volume information is information of the usage amount of the UE accessing the third party application, which is paid by a provider of the third party application for the UE.

Optionally, the storage medium is further arranged to store program code for performing the steps of:

s1, the policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF sends the first volume information before the change of the chargeable body to the application function AF, where the first volume information is information of the used volume of the third party application accessed by the user equipment UE before the change of the chargeable body.

s1, the server of the third party application receives the first volume information sent by the policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF, where the first volume information is information of the usage amount of the user equipment UE accessing the third party application before the chargeable body changes;

and S2, the server of the third party application determines second quantity information according to the first quantity information, wherein the second quantity information is information of the use amount paid by the provider of the third party application for the UE to access the third party application.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the storage medium may include, but is not limited to: a U-disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a removable hard disk, a magnetic or optical disk, and other various media capable of storing program codes.

Optionally, the specific examples in this embodiment may refer to the examples described in the above embodiments and optional implementation manners, and this embodiment is not described herein again.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the modules or steps of the present invention described above may be implemented by a general purpose computing device, they may be centralized on a single computing device or distributed across a network of multiple computing devices, and alternatively, they may be implemented by program code executable by a computing device, such that they may be stored in a storage device and executed by a computing device, and in some cases, the steps shown or described may be performed in an order different than that described herein, or they may be separately fabricated into individual integrated circuit modules, or multiple ones of them may be fabricated into a single integrated circuit module. Thus, the present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A usage information determining method, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) entity sends first volume information before a chargeable main body changes to a server of a third party application, wherein the first volume information is information of usage of User Equipment (UE) accessing the third party application before the chargeable main body changes, the first volume information is used for the server of the third party application to determine second volume information, and the second volume information is information of usage of the UE accessing the third party application paid by a provider of the third party application for the UE.

2. The method of claim 1,

the first quantity information comprises information of flow and/or duration used by the UE when accessing the third-party application before the chargeable main body changes;

the second amount information includes information of traffic and/or duration paid by a provider of the third party application for the UE to access the third party application.

3. The method of claim 1,

if the chargeable main body before the change is the UE, the second amount information is third amount information minus the first amount information, and the third amount information is the total amount of the UE accessing the third party application before and after the change of the chargeable main body, which is counted by the server of the third party application;

if the chargeable subject before the change is the provider of the third party application, the second amount information is the first amount information.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein before the PCEF sends the first volume information before the change of the chargeable body to the server of the third party application, the method further comprises:

the PCEF determines a usage metering method for metering the first usage information, wherein the PCEF and the server of the third party application adopt the same usage metering method;

and the PCEF measures the first quantity information according to the determined quantity measuring method.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the PCEF determines a usage metering method for metering the first amount of information, comprising:

and the PCEF receives a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule sent by a Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF), wherein the PCC rule carries indication information of the usage metering method, and the PCRF determines the usage metering method which is the same as that of a server of the third party application according to a provider of the third party application.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the server of the third-party application provides, to the PCRF, information indicating a traffic metering method to be employed by the server of the third-party application, and wherein the PCRF determines the traffic metering method to be employed by the PCEF according to the information indicating the traffic metering method to be employed by the server of the third-party application.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the PCEF metering the first quantity information according to the determined quantity metering method comprises at least one of:

the PCEF determines first quantity information according to the determined quantity metering method in a mode of metering by the PCEF;

the PCEF determines the first volume information according to the determined volume metering method in a mode that the PCEF interacts with an Online Charging System (OCS);

and the PCEF determines the first quantity information in an interactive mode between the PCEF and an off-line charging system OFCS according to the determined quantity metering method.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the PCEF sending the first quantity information to a server of the third party application comprises at least one of:

the PCEF sends the first volume information to a Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF), the PCRF sends the first volume information to an Application Function (AF), and the AF reports the first volume information to a server applied by a third party;

the PCEF sends the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, the PCRF sends the first volume information to an application function AF through a protocol converter PC, an application access control AAC or a service capability development function SCEF, and the AF reports the first volume information to a server applied by a third party.

9. A usage information transmitting method, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) sends first quantity information before a chargeable main body changes to an Application Function (AF), wherein the first quantity information is information of the use quantity of a User Equipment (UE) accessing a third party application before the chargeable main body changes, the first quantity information is used for a server of the third party application to determine second quantity information, and the second quantity information is information of the use quantity of the UE accessing the third party application, which is paid by a provider of the third party application for the UE.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first quantity information comprises time and/or traffic used to access the third-party application.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the PCEF sending the first quantity information to the AF comprises at least one of:

the PCEF sends the first volume information to a Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF), and the PCRF sends the first volume information to the AF;

and the PCEF sends the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, and the PCRF sends the first volume information to the AF through a protocol converter PC, an application access control AAC or a service capability development function SCEF.

12. A usage information determining method, comprising:

a server of a third party application receives first volume information sent by a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF), wherein the first volume information is information of the usage of User Equipment (UE) accessing the third party application before a chargeable main body changes;

and the server of the third party application determines second quantity information according to the first quantity information, wherein the second quantity information is information of the use amount paid by the provider of the third party application for the UE to access the third party application.

13. The method of claim 12,

14. The method of claim 12, wherein determining, by the server of the third-party application, second quantity information from the first quantity information comprises:

if the chargeable main body before the change is the UE, the server of the third party application subtracts the first quantity information from third quantity information to obtain the second quantity information, wherein the third quantity information is the total quantity of the UE accessing the third party application before and after the change of the chargeable main body, which is counted by the server of the third party application;

if the chargeable main body before the change is the provider of the third party application, the server of the third party application determines the first volume information as the second volume information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein before the server of the third party application determines the second amount of information based on the first amount of information, further comprising:

the server of the third party application determines a usage metering method for metering the third usage information;

and metering the third volume information by the server of the third party application according to the determined volume metering method.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the server of the third-party application determining a usage metering method for metering the third volume information comprises:

the server of the third party application determines the usage metering method in a mode of signing a contract with an operator of the third party application;

and the server of the third party application determines the usage metering method in a dynamic negotiation mode with an operator of the third party application.

17. A usage information receiving method, comprising:

an Application Function (AF) receives first quantity information before a chargeable main body changes, wherein the first quantity information is sent by a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF), the first quantity information is information of the quantity used by User Equipment (UE) for accessing a third party application before the chargeable main body changes, the first quantity information is used for a server of the third party application to determine second quantity information, and the second quantity information is information of the quantity used by the UE for accessing the third party application, and the second quantity information is paid by a provider of the third party application for the UE.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first quantity information comprises time and/or traffic used to access the third-party application.

19. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the receiving, by the AF, the first quantity information sent by the PCEF comprises:

and the AF receives the first volume information sent by the PCEF through a Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF).

20. A usage information determining apparatus, applied in a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF), includes:

the first sending module is configured to send first quantity information before a chargeable main body changes to a server of a third party application, where the first quantity information is information of a usage amount of a User Equipment (UE) accessing the third party application before the chargeable main body changes, the first quantity information is used by the server of the third party application to determine second quantity information, and the second quantity information is information of the usage amount of the UE accessing the third party application, which is paid by a provider of the third party application for the UE.

21. The apparatus of claim 20,

22. The apparatus of claim 20,

23. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising:

a first determining module, configured to determine a usage metering method for metering the first usage information, where the PCEF and the server of the third-party application use the same usage metering method;

and the first metering module is used for metering the first amount information according to the determined amount metering method.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the first determining module comprises:

a first receiving unit, configured to receive a policy and charging control PCC rule sent by a policy and charging rule function PCRF, where the PCC rule carries indication information of the usage metering method, and the PCRF determines, according to a provider of the third-party application, a usage metering method that is the same as that of a server of the third-party application.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the server of the third-party application provides, to the PCRF, information indicative of the usage metering method employed by the server of the third-party application, and wherein the PCRF determines the usage metering method employed by the PCEF according to the information indicative of the usage metering method provided by the server of the third-party application.

26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the first metering module comprises at least one of:

the PCEF determines first quantity information in a mode of statistics by the PCEF according to the determined quantity metering method;

27. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the first sending module comprises at least one of:

a first sending unit, configured to send the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, where the PCRF sends the first volume information to an application function AF, and the AF reports the first volume information to a server of the third party application;

and a second sending unit, configured to send the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, where the PCRF sends the first volume information to an application function AF through a protocol converter PC, an application access control AAC, or a service capability development function SCEF, and the AF reports the first volume information to a server applied by the third party.

28. A usage information sending device is applied to a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) entity, and comprises:

a second sending module, configured to send first volume information before a chargeable body changes to an application function AF, where the first volume information is information of a usage amount used by a user equipment UE to access a third party application before the chargeable body changes, the first volume information is used by a server of the third party application to determine second volume information, and the second volume information is information of the usage amount used by the UE to access the third party application, and the usage amount is paid by a provider of the third party application for the UE.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the first quantity information comprises a time and/or a traffic used to access the third party application.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the second sending module comprises at least one of:

a third sending unit, configured to send the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, where the PCRF sends the first volume information to the AF;

and a fourth sending unit, configured to send the first volume information to a policy and charging rule function PCRF, where the PCRF sends the first volume information to the AF through a protocol converter PC, an application access control AAC, or a service capability development function SCEF.

31. A usage information determining apparatus, applied to a server of a third-party application, comprising:

a first receiving module, configured to receive first volume information sent by a policy and charging enforcement function entity PCEF, where the first volume information is information of a volume of a third-party application accessed by user equipment UE before a chargeable body changes;

a second determining module, configured to determine second amount information according to the first amount information, where the second amount information is information of an amount paid by a provider of the third-party application for the UE to access the third-party application.

32. The apparatus of claim 31,

33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the second determining module comprises:

34. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising:

a third determining module, configured to determine a usage metering method for metering the third usage information; and the second metering module is used for metering the third amount information according to the determined amount metering method.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the third determining module comprises at least one of:

the first determining unit is used for determining the usage metering method in a mode of signing a contract with an operator of the third-party application;

and the second determining unit is used for determining the usage metering method in a dynamic negotiation mode with the operator of the third-party application.

36. A usage information receiving apparatus, applied to an application function AF, includes:

a second receiving module, configured to receive first volume information before a chargeable body changes, where the first volume information is information of a volume used by a user equipment UE to access a third party application before the chargeable body changes, and the first volume information is used by a server of the third party application to determine second volume information, where the second volume information is information of a volume used by the UE to access the third party application and paid by a provider of the third party application for the UE.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the first quantity information comprises a time and/or a traffic used to access the third party application.

38. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the second receiving module comprises:

a second receiving unit, configured to receive, through a policy and charging rule function PCRF, the first volume information sent by the PCEF.