WO2014079313A1

WO2014079313A1 - Method and device for determining proximity relation between user equipments, and communication system

Info

Publication number: WO2014079313A1
Application number: PCT/CN2013/086372
Authority: WO
Inventors: 张娟; 周燕飞
Original assignee: 电信科学技术研究院
Priority date: 2012-11-26
Filing date: 2013-10-31
Publication date: 2014-05-30
Also published as: CN103841542A

Abstract

A method and device for determining a proximity relation between user equipments, and a communication system, which are used for solving the problem that there is no solution at present for discovering a proximity relation between user equipments which are adjacent to each other. The method in the embodiments of the present invention comprises: an application layer device acquiring and storing subscription information about each terminal; after receiving a proximity relation discovery request from a first terminal, according to the subscription information corresponding to the first terminal, determining that the first terminal has a function of discovering other terminals; and acquiring the location information about the first terminal and a second terminal, judging whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet a proximity principle, and sending the result of the judgment to the first terminal. The embodiments of the present invention provide a solution for determining a proximity relation between user equipments, which achieves the discovery process of the proximity relation between the user equipments. In addition, the solution makes little modification to a network architecture in the existing protocol, and is easily realizable.

Description

The present invention claims to be submitted to the Chinese Patent Office on November 26, 2012, the application number is 201210488666.7, and the invention name is "a kind of determining the proximity relationship between user equipments. The priority of the Chinese patent application of the method, the device and the communication system is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a method, device, and communication system for determining a proximity relationship between user equipments. Background technique

The process of communication between two user equipments (UEs) defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is shown in FIG. 1. The process in which UE1 sends data to UE2 includes:

The UE1 sends data to the eNB1 (evolved NodeB, ie, the base station) serving it; after receiving the data, the eNB1 passes the data to the Serving Gateway (SGW)/Packet Gateway (PGW). After receiving the data, the SGW/PGW routes the data to the SGW/PGW serving the UE1 according to the routing identifier of the UE1; since the UE1 and the SGW/PGW of the UE2 are the same, the SGW/PGW serving the UE2 is shown in the figure. Passing the data to eNB2 serving UE2; finally eNB2 passes the data to UE2 to complete the process of UE1 transmitting data to UE2; if the SGW/PGW serving UE1 and UE2 are different, then between UE1 and UE2 The communication process also includes a process in which the PGW of UE1 routes data to the PGW of UE2.

It can be seen from the above process that even if the location between two user equipments that communicate with each other is very close, the data passing through the eNB and the core network serving the respective peers can reach the opposite end, so that the communication delay is very large, and Will take up more network resources. Therefore, 3GPP is studying communication technology between neighboring devices, that is, when the distance between two UEs that need to communicate is very close, The data is directly transmitted between the two UEs. The data transmission path is shown in Figure 2A. The data can be directly transmitted between UE1 and UE2 without going through any mobile network equipment; or the two UEs can be realized only by the transmission of the eNB. For the fast communication between the two, the data transmission path is as shown in FIG. 2B. The UE1 and the UE2 are connected to the same eNB, so that only the data to be transmitted is forwarded through the eNB, and the data is not required to be forwarded to the core network for forwarding. The above two transmission modes greatly reduce the delay of data transmission, and can save network resources, especially the network resources of the core network.

At present, 3GPP SA1 is discussing the implementation problem of proximity communication. In order to implement proximity communication between UEs, the following two major problems need to be solved: one is the proximity discovery process between UEs, and the other is how to determine the proximity between UEs. Implement direct communication. Among them, the proximity discovery process between UEs is not only an important premise for implementing proximity communication, but also supports many application scenarios. For example, a merchant may send a discount and promotional advertisement to a UE near the merchant by detecting a proximity relationship; for example, the user may search for a restaurant and a supermarket near the location by using a function discovered by the proximity relationship; for example, a bus The station can use the functions discovered by the proximity relationship to forecast bus arrival information, and so on.

In order to support the characteristics of Machine-Type Communication (MTC) trigger, a new architecture is introduced in the 3GPP network architecture, as shown in Figure 3, on the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). A new machine type communication interaction function has been added to the network ( Machine-Type Communication Interworking

Function, MTC-IWF) entity, which is used to connect each network element in the 3GPP network and the MTC server (server), and shields the MTC server from the topology of the 3GPP network. An interface T5b is provided between the MTC-IWF and the Mobility Management Entity (MME), and an interface S6m is provided between the MTC-IWF and the Home Subscriber Server (HSS).

The UE uses an internal identity in the 3GPP network, such as an International Mobile Subscriber Identifier (IMSI), etc.; and the interaction between the UE and the MTC server uses an external ID (external ID), for each UE. The mapping between the external ID and the internal ID is stored in the HSS. When the MTC server initiates a trigger to the UE (trigger) When the information is received, the trigger message carries the external identifier of the UE. After receiving the message, the MTC-IWF goes to the HSS to query the internal identifier corresponding to the UE. The HSS will return the internal identity of the UE to the MTC-IWF and the MME ID information registered by the UE stored in the HSS. After receiving the information, the MTC-IWF triggers the corresponding message to the MME through the T5b interface.

In summary, at present, 3GPP only defines the requirements for proximity discovery, and there is no solution for proximity discovery between user devices that are adjacent to each other. Summary of the invention

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method, a device, and a communication system for determining a proximity relationship between user equipments, which are used to solve a solution in the prior art that does not currently perform proximity discovery between user equipments that are adjacent to each other. The problem.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for determining a proximity relationship between user equipments, including: an application layer device acquiring and storing subscription information of each terminal;

After receiving the proximity discovery request of the first terminal, the application layer device determines, according to the subscription information corresponding to the first terminal, that the first terminal has the function of discovering other terminals, where the proximity relationship is found. Carrying an external identifier of the first terminal in the request;

The application layer device obtains the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, determines whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet the proximity principle, and sends the determination result to the first terminal.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an application layer device, including:

a subscription information obtaining module, configured to acquire and store subscription information of each terminal;

a receiving module, configured to receive a proximity discovery request of the first terminal, and determine, according to the subscription information corresponding to the first terminal, that the first terminal has a function capable of discovering other terminals, where the neighbor relationship discovery request is Carrying an external identifier of the first terminal;

a location information obtaining module, configured to acquire location information of the first terminal and the second terminal; a determining module, configured to determine whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet a proximity principle; and a sending module, configured to: The judgment result of the module is sent to the first terminal. The embodiment of the invention provides a communication system, including:

The application layer device is configured to acquire and store the subscription information of each terminal. After receiving the proximity discovery request of the first terminal, determining, according to the subscription information corresponding to the first terminal, that the first terminal has the capability of discovering other terminals. The function of obtaining the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, determining whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet the proximity principle, and sending the determination result to the first terminal; The neighboring relationship discovery request carries the external identifier of the first terminal;

The first terminal is configured to send a neighbor relationship discovery request to the application layer device, and receive a determination result fed back by the application layer device.

The network device provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes:

a network interface, configured to acquire subscription information of the terminal; and receive a proximity relationship discovery request of the first terminal;

a storage, configured to store subscription information of the terminal acquired by the network interface;

a processor, configured to: after the network interface receives the proximity relationship discovery request of the first terminal, if it is determined that the first terminal has the function of discovering other terminals according to the subscription information corresponding to the first terminal, Determining, by the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet the proximity principle, and sending the determination result to the first terminal by using the network interface; The neighbor relationship discovery request carries the external identifier of the first terminal. After the proximity relationship discovery request of the terminal, determining, according to the proximity relationship subscription information corresponding to the first terminal, determining that the first terminal has the function of discovering other terminals; acquiring location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, determining the second terminal and the first terminal Whether the proximity principle is met, and the judgment result is sent to the first terminal. The embodiment of the present invention provides a scheme for determining a neighbor relationship between user equipments, and implements a discovery process of a neighbor relationship between user equipments, and the scheme is The network architecture changes in the existing protocols are small and easy to implement. DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following drawings will be briefly described in the description of the embodiments, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, Those skilled in the art can also obtain other drawings based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

1 is a schematic diagram of a data transmission path for communication between two user equipments in the prior art; FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a data transmission path for direct communication between two user equipments defined in the existing protocol;

2B is a schematic diagram of a data transmission path for communication between two user equipments defined by an existing protocol through an eNB;

3 is a schematic diagram of a 3GPP network architecture in the background art;

4 is a schematic flowchart of a method for determining a proximity relationship between user equipments according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a method for obtaining subscription information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of interaction between entities in the process of acquiring subscription information based on the network architecture shown in FIG. 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of interaction between entities in the process of acquiring location information based on the network architecture shown in FIG. 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

9 is a schematic structural diagram of an application layer device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present invention. After the proximity relationship discovery request of the terminal, the first terminal has the function of being able to discover other terminals according to the proximity relationship subscription information corresponding to the first terminal, and determining that the second terminal and the first terminal are Whether the proximity principle is satisfied, and the judgment result is sent to the first terminal, thereby solving the problem that there is currently no solution for proximity discovery between user devices that are adjacent to each other.

The embodiments of the present invention are further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 4, a method for determining a proximity relationship between user equipments according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

Step 41: The application layer device acquires and stores the subscription information of each terminal.

Step 42: After receiving the proximity discovery request of the first terminal, the application layer device determines, according to the subscription information corresponding to the first terminal, that the first terminal has the function of discovering other terminals, where the proximity relationship discovery request carries the first An external identifier of a terminal;

Step 43: The application layer device obtains location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, and determines whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet the proximity principle.

The second terminal in the embodiment of the present invention refers to a terminal different from the first terminal.

Step 44: The application layer device sends the determination result to the first terminal to complete the proximity discovery process.

The application layer device in the embodiment of the present invention may be an application server or the like (server).

It should be noted that, for a terminal having a proximity discovery function, the subscription information includes the proximity relationship subscription information of the terminal, and the proximity relationship subscription information of the terminal is: the terminal allows to discover other terminals and is not allowed to be used by other terminals. Discovering that the terminal allows discovery by other terminals and does not allow discovery of other terminals, the terminal allows discovery of other terminals and allows discovery by other terminals, or the terminal does not allow discovery by other terminals and does not allow discovery of other terminals; The information is for all the services related to the proximity relationship of the terminal, that is, any service related to the proximity relationship activated by the terminal should comply with the contracted proximity relationship subscription information.

In the implementation of the present invention, a terminal does not have the function of discovering other terminals, including: the terminal does not have the proximity relationship discovery function; or the terminal has the proximity relationship discovery function, but the proximity relationship subscription information is that the terminal is allowed to be discovered by other terminals. And the terminal is not allowed to discover other terminals; or the terminal has the proximity relationship discovery function, but the proximity relationship subscription information is that the terminal is not allowed to be discovered by other terminals and the other terminals are not allowed to be discovered; A terminal has the function of discovering other terminals, including: the proximity relationship signing information of the terminal is that the terminal allows to discover other terminals and is allowed to be discovered by other terminals; or the neighbor relationship of the terminal is in implementation, if the first terminal does not have the discovery After the function of the other terminal, the application layer device does not perform the proximity discovery process after receiving the proximity discovery request sent by the first terminal, or notifies the first terminal that the first terminal does not have the function of discovering other terminals by using the application layer message.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the proximity principle in step 43 means that the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies the setting condition.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets the setting conditions, and the following three manners are included:

In the first mode, the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is not greater than the set threshold; wherein the set threshold is an empirical value, which may be set according to requirements; for example, the first terminal and the second terminal The distance between them is not more than 500 meters, etc.;

In the second mode, the first terminal and the second terminal reside in the same cell; that is, the ID of the current terminal of the first terminal and the second terminal are the same;

In a third mode, the first terminal and the second terminal reside in the same base station; that is, the ID of the first terminal and the second terminal currently camped on the base station are the same.

A limitation scenario for the proximity discovery process is also defined in the 3GPP, that is, the discovery process of the proximity relationship requires the subscription relationship information with the UE, the network configuration, and whether the registration relationship between the two user equipments at the application layer is a friend relationship. Etc. (ie social relationships) factors are relevant.

For example: Suppose A, B, and C use the same social network application, and VIII, B, and C both use UEs with neighboring service functions. The context information maintained by the social network application layer displays the following relationship information: A and C are friends. C and B are friends, A and B are not friends. In this scenario, the proximity discovery functions that need to be implemented are as follows:

- A's UE can find C in a neighboring location;

- The UE of C can find that A is in a neighboring location;

- A's social networking application can know if C is in its immediate location; - C's social networking application can know if A is in its immediate location;

- The UE of B cannot find that the UE of A is in its neighboring location;

- A's social networking application cannot detect if B is in its immediate location;

- B's social networking application cannot detect if A is in its immediate location;

Therefore, the proximity discovery process requires that only UEs with friend relationships can discover each other. If the application layer indicates that the UEs are not friends, they cannot discover each other, that is, the two neighboring terminals need to satisfy certain social relationships. Discover each other.

For the limitation scenario of the proximity discovery process defined by the foregoing 3GPP, further, in step 43, the application layer device, before acquiring the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, further includes: determining whether the second terminal and the first terminal are satisfied Set social relationships.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the set social relationship is that the identity relationship between the terminals registered in the same social network meets the set condition, where the application layer device can query the registration in the same social network in the context of its own storage. For example, UE1 and UE2 belong to the same group, and UE2 and UE3 do not belong to the same group;

The set social relationship may be that the second terminal to be determined is in a friend relationship with the first terminal, or the second terminal to be determined belongs to the same set group as the first terminal, and the like, in the embodiment of the present invention, According to actual needs, the conditions for the identity relationships of the terminals registered in the same social network to be met during the discovery process are set.

Further, referring to FIG. 5, in step 41, the application layer device obtains subscription information of each terminal (including at least the first terminal and the second terminal) according to the following steps and stores:

Step 51: In a process of initiating an attaching process, the MME currently camped on the terminal initiates a subscription information acquisition request to the HSS, where the subscription information acquisition request carries the internal identifier of the terminal; signaling between the MME and the HSS Identify the corresponding terminal with an internal identifier, such as IMSI;

For the attachment process of the terminal, refer to the 3GPP TS 23.401 protocol, and details are not described herein. Step 52: The HSS obtains the subscription information corresponding to the internal identifier from the subscription information of each terminal that is stored in the subscription information obtained by the received subscription information, and obtains the subscription information corresponding to the internal identifier. The mapping information of the obtained contract information and the internal identifier of the terminal and the external identifier (such as the mapping relationship between the IMSI and the application layer identifier) are sent to the MME;

The HSS holds the subscription information of each terminal. For the terminal with the proximity discovery function, the subscription information also includes the proximity relationship subscription information of the terminal, because the terminal and the application layer device use the external identifier to interact. The interaction between the internal identifier of each terminal and the external identifier is also stored in the HSS. Generally, the internal identifier of the terminal is IMSI, and the external identifier of the terminal is an application. Layer identification (such as the QQ number of the terminal, MSN account, etc.).

Step 53: The MME sends the subscription information of the terminal returned by the HSS and the mapping relationship between the internal identifier of the terminal and the external identifier to the intermediate interaction device;

Step 54: The intermediate interaction device saves the received mapping relationship between the internal identifier of the terminal and the external identifier, and sends the subscription information of the terminal and the external identifier of the terminal to the application layer device for storage.

Preferably, in step 53, the MME further sends its own identification information to the intermediate interaction device for storage;

Correspondingly, in step 54, after receiving the identifier information of the MME sent by the MME, the intermediate interaction layer device saves the identifier information of the MME currently camped on by the terminal.

Preferably, after the MME that the terminal currently resides is changed, the MME that the terminal currently camps sends an update request to the intermediate interaction device, where the update request carries the identity information of the MME and the internal identifier of the terminal;

Correspondingly, the intermediate interaction device updates the identity information of the MME currently stored by the terminal, which is stored in the intermediate interaction device, to ensure that the identity information of the MME stored in the intermediate interaction device is valid information.

It should be noted that the signaling interaction between the MME and the HSS uses the internal identifier to identify the terminal; the signaling interaction between the MME and the intermediate interaction device uses the internal identifier to identify the terminal; between the intermediate interaction device and the application layer device The signaling interaction uses an external identifier to identify the terminal, such as the application layer ID of the terminal. Preferably, in the embodiment of the present invention, the intermediate interaction device may be deployed separately or in combination with

MTC-IWF is also available and can be combined with HSS.

Specifically, if the intermediate interaction device is combined with the MTC-IWF, the intermediate interaction device can interact with the MME and the application layer device respectively through the interface Xx and the interface Xz; and can also communicate with the MME through the interface T5b and the interface Tsp of the MTC-IWF respectively. The application layer device interacts, wherein the interface T5b and the interface Tsp are defined to have the functions of the interface Xx and the interface Xz;

If the intermediate interaction device is combined with the HSS, the intermediate interaction device interacts with the MME and the application layer device through the interface Xx and the interface Xz, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a network architecture diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. In the network architecture, an intermediate interaction device and an MME are configured to interact with each other through an interface Xx, where the interface Xx is used to implement location information of the terminal between the intermediate interaction device and the MME. The process of obtaining the subscription information, specifically: the MME obtains the subscription information of the terminal, and the mapping relationship between the internal identifier of the terminal and the external identifier is sent to the intermediate interaction device through the interface Xx; and the intermediate interaction device sends the location information to the MME through the interface Xx. Acquiring the request, the MME sends the obtained location information of the terminal to the intermediate interaction device through the interface Xx; and defines the interaction between the intermediate interaction device and the application layer device through the interface Xz, where the interface Xy is used in the intermediate interaction device and the application layer device The process of obtaining the location information of the terminal and the process of acquiring the subscription information is as follows: The intermediate interaction device sends the obtained subscription information of the terminal to the application layer device through the interface Xz; and the application layer device initiates the location to the intermediate interaction device through the interface Xz. Information acquisition request, intermediate interaction device The acquired position information transmitting terminal device to the application layer via the interface Xz.

It should be noted that the interface Xy and the interface Xz can be defined by using any existing protocol stack, as long as the above functions can be implemented.

Taking the network architecture shown in FIG. 6 as an example, the process of obtaining the subscription information of each terminal in the embodiment of the present invention includes: interaction between the HS S and the MME, the MME, the intermediate interaction device, and the intermediate interaction device and the application layer device, As shown in FIG. 7, refer to steps 51 to 54 for details.

Preferably, the intermediate interaction device in the embodiment of the present invention may be deployed separately, or may be set in the MTC-IWF, or may be set in the HSS. Specifically, if the intermediate interaction device is set in the MTC-IWF, the intermediate interaction device can interact with the HSS and the application layer device respectively through the interface Xy and the interface Xz; and can also communicate with the HSS through the interface S6m and the interface Tsp of the MTC-IWF respectively. The application layer device interacts, wherein the interface S6m and the interface Tsp are defined to have the functions of the interface Xy and the interface Xz;

If the intermediate interaction device is set in the HSS, the intermediate interaction device interacts with the HSS and the application layer device through the interface Xy and the interface Xz respectively, wherein the interaction between the intermediate interaction device and the HSS uses internal signaling.

Further, the proximity discovery request initiated by the first terminal includes the following two types:

The first proximity discovery request is: the first terminal requests to determine whether the first terminal and the second terminal specified by itself meet the proximity principle (or meet the proximity principle and the set social relationship); wherein the proximity discovery request further carries Have an external identifier of the second terminal;

In this application scenario, the first terminal needs to be able to obtain the external identifier of the second terminal that is specified by the first terminal. For example, the first terminal may obtain the external identifier of the second terminal by using the application layer device, and may also obtain the second method by using other methods. The external identifier of the terminal.

The second proximity discovery request is: the first terminal requests to determine all second terminals that satisfy the proximity principle (or proximity principle and set social relationship).

The following describes the execution process of step 43 after the first terminal initiates the proximity discovery request for the restriction scenario of the proximity discovery process defined by the foregoing 3GPP.

For the first type of proximity discovery request, before the application layer device obtains the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, the method further includes:

The application layer device determines, according to the external identifier of the second terminal carried in the request, the second terminal has a function that can be discovered by the other terminal, and the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy the set social relationship.

Correspondingly, after determining that the second terminal has a function that can be discovered by the other terminal, and the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy the set social relationship, acquiring the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal; After determining the location information returned by the intermediate interaction device, determining, according to the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet the proximity principle; If yes, determining that the second terminal is adjacent to the first terminal;

If not, it is determined that the second terminal is not adjacent to the first terminal.

Correspondingly, in step 44, the application layer device sends the determination result to the first terminal, including: if the determination result in step 43 is that the second terminal is adjacent to the first terminal, the application layer device returns a proximity response message to the first terminal; as well as

If the result of the determination in step 43 is that the second terminal is not adjacent to the first terminal, the application layer device returns a non-proximity response message to the first terminal.

Preferably, in step 44, the method further includes: the application layer device sending the determination result to the second terminal. Specifically, if the result of the determination in step 43 is that the second terminal is adjacent to the first terminal, the application layer device returns a proximity response message with the first terminal to the second terminal, where the returned message carries the external identifier of the first terminal;

If the result of the determination in step 43 is that the second terminal is not adjacent to the first terminal, the application layer device returns a non-proximity response message with the first terminal to the second terminal, where the returned message carries the external identifier of the first terminal.

Further, the application layer device determines, according to the following steps, that the second terminal has a function that can be found by other terminals:

The application layer device obtains the subscription information of the second terminal from the subscription information of the terminal that is stored in the terminal, according to the external identifier of the second terminal that is carried in the request.

The application layer device determines, according to the subscription information of the second terminal, whether the second terminal has a function that can be discovered by the other terminal;

When the subscription information included in the subscription information is allowed to be discovered by other terminals and the other terminals are not allowed to be discovered, or the terminal allows other terminals to be discovered and allowed to be discovered by other terminals, it is determined that the second terminal has permission to be discovered by other terminals. The function.

Further, if the subscription information does not include the proximity relationship subscription information (that is, the terminal does not have the proximity relationship discovery function), or the proximity relationship subscription information of the terminal is that the terminal allows to discover other terminals and is not allowed to be discovered by other terminals, or The proximity relationship signing information of the terminal is that the terminal is not allowed to be discovered by other terminals and the other terminals are not allowed to be found, then it is determined that the second terminal does not have permission to be The features discovered by his terminal.

In this embodiment, the application layer device determines whether the second terminal has a function that can be discovered by other terminals, and determines whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet the set social relationship, that is, the application layer device may first Determining whether the second terminal has a function that can be discovered by another terminal, and determining whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet the set social relationship; or determining whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet the set social relationship And whether the second terminal has a function that can be discovered by other terminals. specific:

The application layer device may first determine whether the second terminal has a function that can be discovered by other terminals, and if not, determine that the second terminal is not adjacent to the first terminal; if yes, continue to determine whether the second terminal and the first terminal are satisfied. Setting the social relationship, if not, determining that the second terminal is not adjacent to the first terminal; if yes, determining that the second terminal has a function that can be discovered by other terminals and whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet the setting Social relationship;

The application layer device may also determine whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet the set social relationship. If not, if not, determine that the second terminal is not adjacent to the first terminal; if yes, continue to determine the second Whether the terminal has a function that can be discovered by other terminals, if not, determining that the second terminal is not adjacent to the first terminal; if yes, determining that the second terminal has a function that can be discovered by other terminals, and the second terminal and the first terminal Whether the terminal satisfies the set social relationship.

For the second proximity discovery request, in step 43, before the application layer device obtains the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, the method further includes:

The application layer device determines all second terminals having functions that can be discovered by other terminals and that satisfy the set social relationship with the first terminal.

Correspondingly, the application layer device acquires the location information of the first terminal and all the determined second terminals; and after receiving the location information returned by the intermediate interaction device, determining, according to the location information of the first terminal and all the determined second terminals, A second terminal that satisfies the proximity principle with the first terminal.

Correspondingly, in step 44, the application layer device sends the determination result to the first terminal, including: if the result of the determination in step 43 is that there is a function that can be found by other terminals, and the first terminal meets the set social relationship and proximity The second terminal of the principle, the application layer device returns to the first terminal Returning the success response message, and feeding back the external identifier and/or location information of all the second terminals determined in step 43 to the first terminal;

If the result of the determination in step 43 is that the second terminal does not meet the above conditions, the application layer device returns a failure response message to the first terminal.

Preferably, in step 44, the application layer device sends the determination result to the second terminal. Specifically, if the result of the determination in step 43 is that the second terminal and the first terminal meet the foregoing conditions, the application layer device The second terminal returns a proximity response message with the first terminal, where the returned message carries the external identifier of the first terminal.

Preferably, the application layer device sends the determination result in step 43 to the first terminal and/or the second terminal by using an application layer message.

Further, the application layer device determines, according to the subscription information of each terminal that is stored by itself, all the second terminals that have functions that can be discovered by other terminals;

If the subscription information included in the subscription information is that the terminal allows discovery by other terminals and does not allow discovery of other terminals, or the terminal allows discovery of other terminals and allows discovery by other terminals, determining that the second terminal has permission to be discovered by other terminals The function.

Further, the application layer device can query all second terminals that satisfy the set social relationship (such as a friend relationship) with the first terminal from the context of the self storage.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the application layer device obtains location information of each terminal (including at least the first terminal and the second terminal) according to the following steps:

The application layer device sends a location information acquisition request to the intermediate interaction device, where the location information acquisition request carries the external identifier of the terminal;

The intermediate interaction device determines the internal identifier of the terminal according to the mapping relationship between the internal identifier and the external identifier, and initiates a location query request to the MME that the terminal currently resides. The location query request carries the internal identifier of the terminal.

The MME obtains the location information of the terminal according to the received internal identifier, and sends the obtained location information to the intermediate interaction device, where the location information includes: the ID of the cell where the terminal currently camps, and the terminal. ID of the base station currently camped, and geographical location information of the terminal One or a combination; and

The intermediate interaction device sends the received location information of the terminal to the application layer device.

For example, the network architecture diagram shown in FIG. 6 is used as an example. In the embodiment of the present invention, the process of acquiring location information of each terminal includes: interaction between the intermediate interaction device and the application layer device, and the intermediate interaction device and the MME, as shown in FIG. Show.

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

Based on the foregoing embodiment, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an application layer device. As shown in FIG. 9, the application layer device includes:

The subscription information obtaining module 90 is configured to acquire and store the subscription information of each terminal;

The receiving module 91 is configured to receive the proximity discovery request of the first terminal, and determine, according to the subscription information corresponding to the first terminal that is stored by the subscription information acquiring module 90, that the first terminal has the function of discovering other terminals, where the neighbor relationship The discovery request carries the external identifier of the first terminal; the location information obtaining module 92 is configured to obtain the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, and the determining module 93 is configured to determine whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet the proximity principle. The proximity principle refers to that the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets a set condition;

The sending module 94 is configured to send the determination result of the determining module 93 to the first terminal.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the second terminal refers to a terminal different from the first terminal.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the proximity principle means that the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies the setting condition.

Further, the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies the setting condition that the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is not greater than a set threshold, or the first terminal and the second terminal reside in the same The cell, or the first terminal and the second terminal reside in the same base station.

Further, the determining module 93 is further configured to: before the location information obtaining module 92 acquires the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, determine whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet the set social relationship.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the set social relationship refers to each terminal registered in the same social network. The identity relationship satisfies the setting condition, wherein the application layer device can query the identity relationship between the terminals registered in the same social network in the context of the self-storage, for example, UE1 and UE2 are friends, and UE1 and UE3 are not friends. For example, UE1 and UE2 belong to the same group, and UE2 and UE3 do not belong to the same group;

Further, the application layer device further includes:

The subscription information obtaining module 95 is configured to receive and register the subscription information of each terminal sent by the intermediate interaction device, where the subscription information sent by the intermediate interaction device carries the external identifier of the terminal.

As an application scenario, if the proximity discovery request is: the first terminal requests to determine whether the first terminal and the second terminal specified by the first terminal meet the proximity principle and the set social relationship, and the proximity discovery request further carries the second The external identifier of the terminal; then the determining module 93 is specifically configured to:

Before the location information obtaining module 92 acquires the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, determining, according to the external identifier of the second terminal that is carried in the request, the second terminal has a function that can be discovered by the other terminal, and the The second terminal and the first terminal satisfy a set social relationship.

As another application scenario, if the proximity discovery request is: the first terminal requests to determine all the second terminals that satisfy the proximity principle and the set social relationship; the determining module 93 is specifically configured to: obtain the location information acquiring module 92. Before the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, determining all second terminals having functions that can be discovered by other terminals and satisfying the set social relationship with the first terminal; and receiving the intermediate interaction device in the location information acquiring module 92 After the returned location information, the second terminal that satisfies the proximity principle with the first terminal is determined according to the first terminal and the determined location information of all the second terminals.

Correspondingly, the sending module 94 is further configured to:

The determined external identification and/or location information of all second terminals having functions capable of being discovered by other terminals and satisfying the set social relationship and proximity principle with the first terminal is fed back to the first terminal. Further, the sending module 94 is further configured to: send the determination result of the determining module 93 to the second terminal.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication system. Referring to FIG. 10, the communication system includes:

The application layer device 100 is configured to acquire and store the subscription information of each terminal. After receiving the proximity relationship discovery request of the first terminal 110, determining, according to the proximity relationship subscription information corresponding to the first terminal 110, that the first terminal 110 has the capability to discover The function of the other terminal; obtaining the location information of the first terminal 110 and the second terminal, determining whether the second terminal and the first terminal 110 satisfy the proximity principle, and transmitting the determination result to the first terminal 110; wherein, the proximity relationship discovery request is Carrying the external identifier of the first terminal 110, the proximity principle is that the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets the setting condition; the first terminal 110 is configured to send a proximity relationship discovery request to the application layer device, and receive the application. The judgment result of the layer device feedback.

Further, the application layer device 100 is further configured to: before obtaining the location information of the first terminal 110 and the second terminal, determine whether the second terminal and the first terminal 110 satisfy the set social relationship.

The set social relationship may be that the second terminal to be determined is in a friend relationship with the first terminal, or the second terminal to be determined belongs to the same set group as the first terminal, and the like. The conditions that the identity relationships of the terminals registered in the same social network need to be met during the discovery process may be set according to actual needs.

Further, the communication system further includes: an MME 120, an intermediate interaction device 130, and an HSS 140; wherein the subscription information acquisition process of each terminal includes:

The MME 120 is configured to send a subscription information acquisition request to the HSS 140, and send the feedback of the HSS 140 to the intermediate interaction device 130, where the subscription information acquisition request carries the internal identifier of the terminal;

The HSS 140 is configured to obtain, according to the received internal information of the subscription information, the subscription information corresponding to the internal identifier, and the obtained subscription information and the internal identifier of the terminal stored by the self-registered subscription information. The mapping relationship with the external identifier is sent to the MME 120;

The intermediate interaction device 130 is configured to save the received mapping relationship between the internal identifier of the terminal and the external identifier, and send the received subscription information of the terminal to the application layer server 100.

Further, the MME 120 is further configured to: when the feedback of the HSS 140 is sent to the intermediate interaction device 130, send the identity information of the HSS to the intermediate interaction layer device 130;

The intermediate interaction layer device 130 is further configured to: save the identifier information of the MME 120 that the terminal currently camps on. Further, after the MME 120 currently camped on by a terminal is changed, the MME 120 currently camped by the terminal is further configured to: send an update request to the intermediate interaction device 130, where the update request carries its own identification information and an internal identifier of the terminal. ;

The intermediate interaction device 130 is further configured to: update, according to the received update request, the identity information of the MME currently stored by the terminal that is currently stored by the terminal.

Further, the application layer device 100 is further configured to: initiate a location information acquisition request to the intermediate interaction device 130, where the location information acquisition request carries an external identifier of the terminal;

The intermediate interaction device 130 is further configured to: determine, according to the mapping relationship between the internal identifier and the external identifier, the internal identifier corresponding to the external identifier carried in the received location information acquisition request, and initiate a location query to the MME 120 where the terminal currently resides. The request, the location information query request carries the internal identifier of the terminal; and the feedback of the MME 120 currently hosting the terminal is sent to the application layer device 100; The MME 120 currently camped on by the terminal is further configured to: obtain the location information of the terminal according to the internal identifier carried in the received location query request, and send the obtained location information to the intermediate interaction device 130 and carry the internal location of the terminal. And the location information includes: one or a combination of an ID of a cell where the terminal currently camps, an ID of a base station where the terminal currently camps, and geographic location information of the terminal.

Preferably, the intermediate interaction device 130 is combined with the machine type communication interaction function MTC-IWF entity; or the intermediate interaction device is combined with the 130 HSS. After the proximity relationship discovery request of the terminal, determining, according to the proximity relationship subscription information corresponding to the first terminal, determining that the first terminal has the function of discovering other terminals; and determining whether the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy the proximity principle, and sending the determination result The first terminal is provided. The embodiment of the present invention provides a solution for determining a proximity relationship between user equipments. The solution has small changes to the network architecture in the existing protocol, and is easy to implement.

Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network device. As shown in FIG. 11 , the network device may include: a network interface 111, a processor 112, and a memory 113, where: a network interface 111, configured to acquire subscription information of the terminal; and, receiving a proximity discovery request of the first terminal;

The storage unit 112 is configured to store subscription information of the terminal acquired by the network interface.

The processor 113 is configured to: after the network interface receives the proximity relationship discovery request of the first terminal, if it is determined that the first terminal has the function of being able to discover other terminals according to the subscription information corresponding to the first terminal, Acquiring the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, determining whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet the proximity principle, and sending the determination result to the first terminal by using the network interface; The neighbor relationship discovery request carries an external identifier of the first terminal.

Further, the processor 112 may further determine, before the network interface 111 acquires the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, whether the second terminal and the first terminal meet the set social relationship, where The social relationship that satisfies the setting refers to each terminal registered in the same social network. The identity relationship between them satisfies the set conditions.

The proximity relationship discovery request is: the first terminal requests to determine whether the first terminal and the second terminal specified by the first terminal meet the proximity principle and the set social relationship, and the proximity relationship discovery request further carries An external identifier of the second terminal. Correspondingly, the processor 112 may further determine, according to the external identifier of the second terminal carried in the request by the proximity relationship, that the second terminal has other capabilities, before acquiring the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal. The function discovered by the terminal and the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy the set social relationship.

Further, if the proximity discovery request is: the first terminal requests to determine all second terminals that satisfy the proximity principle and the set social relationship, the processor 112 may also obtain the Determining, by the first terminal and the location information of the second terminal, all second terminals having functions capable of being discovered by other terminals and satisfying the set social relationship with the first terminal; the processor 112 determining the second Whether the terminal and the first terminal meet the proximity principle further includes: after receiving the location information returned by the intermediate interaction device, determining, according to the first terminal and the determined location information of all the second terminals, the first The terminal satisfies the second terminal of the proximity principle.

Specifically, the network interface 111 may determine the external identifier and/or location of all the second terminals having the function that can be discovered by other terminals and satisfy the set social relationship and the proximity principle with the first terminal. Information is fed back to the first terminal.

Further, the network interface 111 may also send the determination result to the second terminal. The satisfying the proximity principle means that the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies the setting condition, and the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies the setting condition, including: The distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is not greater than a set threshold, or the first terminal and the second terminal reside in the same cell, or the first terminal and the second terminal The terminal resides on the same base station.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present invention can be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or a combination of software and hardware. Moreover, the present invention is applicable to one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disks) having computer usable program code embodied therein. A form of computer program product embodied on a memory, CD-ROM, optical storage, or the like.

The present invention has been described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (system), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowcharts and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flow and/or blocks in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine for the execution of instructions for execution by a processor of a computer or other programmable data processing device. Means for implementing the functions specified in one or more of the flow or in a block or blocks of the flow chart.

The computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising the instruction device. The apparatus implements the functions specified in one or more blocks of a flow or a flow and/or block diagram of the flowchart.

These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device such that a series of operational steps are performed on a computer or other programmable device to produce computer-implemented processing for execution on a computer or other programmable device. The instructions provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more of the flow or in a block or blocks of a flow diagram.

Although the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the < Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and the modifications and modifications The spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of the inventions

Claims

Rights request

1. A method for determining proximity relationships between user equipment, characterized in that the method includes:

The application layer device obtains and stores the terminal’s contract information;

After receiving the proximity discovery request of the first terminal, the application layer device determines that the first terminal has the function of discovering other terminals based on the subscription information corresponding to the first terminal, then the application layer device Obtain the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, determine whether the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy the proximity principle, and send the determination result to the first terminal; wherein, the proximity relationship discovery The request carries the external identifier of the first terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein before the application layer device obtains the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, the method further includes:

The application layer device determines whether the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy the set social relationship, where the set social relationship refers to the identity relationship between terminals registered in the same social network. Meet the set conditions.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the application layer device obtains the terminal's contract information:

The application layer device receives the subscription information of each terminal sent by the intermediate interaction device and saves it.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein before the application layer device receives the terminal's subscription information sent by the intermediate interaction device, the method further includes:

The mobility management entity MME where the terminal currently resides sends a subscription information acquisition request to the home user server HSS, and the subscription information acquisition request carries the internal identifier of the terminal;

The HSS obtains the contract information corresponding to the internal identifier from the contract information stored by itself according to the internal identifier carried in the received contract information acquisition request, and combines the obtained contract information with the internal information of the terminal stored by itself. The mapping relationship between the identifier and the external identifier is sent to the MME;

The MME will receive the terminal subscription information and the internal identification and external identification of the terminal. The mapping relationship is sent to the intermediate interaction device;

The intermediate interaction layer device stores the received mapping relationship between the internal identifier and the external identifier of the terminal, and sends the received subscription information of the terminal to the application layer server.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, when the MME sends the subscription information of the terminal returned by the HSS and the mapping relationship between the internal identifier and the external identifier of the terminal to the intermediate interaction device , Also includes:

The MME sends its own identification information to the intermediate interaction layer device;

When the intermediate interaction layer device saves the mapping relationship between the internal identifier and the external identifier of the terminal, it also includes:

The intermediate interaction layer device stores the identification information of the MME where the terminal currently resides.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, the method further includes:

The intermediate device receives the update request, and updates the stored identification information of the MME where the terminal currently resides according to the received update request; wherein the update request is that after the MME where the terminal currently resides changes, the terminal The update request sent by the currently resident MME to the intermediate interactive device carries its own identification information and the internal identification of the terminal.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the intermediate interaction device is co-located with the machine type communication interaction function MTC-IWF entity; or the intermediate interaction device is co-located with the HSS.

8. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the application layer device obtains the location information of the terminal, including:

The application layer device initiates a location information acquisition request to the intermediate interaction device, and the location information acquisition request carries the external identifier of the terminal;

The intermediate interactive device determines the internal identifier corresponding to the external identifier carried in the received location information acquisition request based on the mapping relationship between the internal identifier and the external identifier saved by itself, and initiates a location query request to the MME where the terminal currently resides. , the location information query request carries the internal identifier of the terminal;

The MME obtains the location information of the terminal based on the internal identifier carried in the received location query request, and sends the obtained location information to the intermediate interaction device and carries the terminal internal identification;

The intermediate interaction device feeds back the received location information to the application layer device; wherein, the location information includes: the ID of the cell where the terminal currently resides, the ID of the base station where the terminal currently resides, and the geographical location information of the terminal. one or a combination of them.

9. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the proximity relationship discovery request is: the first terminal requests to determine whether the first terminal and the second terminal designated by itself satisfy the proximity principle and The set social relationship, the proximity relationship discovery request also carries the external identifier of the second terminal;

Before the application layer device obtains the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, it also includes:

The application layer device determines, based on the external identifier of the second terminal carried in the proximity discovery request, that the second terminal has a function that can be discovered by other terminals and that the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy the requirements of the device. certain social relationships.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein if the proximity relationship discovery request is: the first terminal requests to determine all second terminals that satisfy the proximity principle and the set social relationship with itself. terminal;

The application layer device determines all second terminals that have functions that can be discovered by other terminals and satisfy the set social relationship with the first terminal;

Determining whether the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy the proximity principle further includes: after receiving the location information returned by the intermediate interaction device, the application layer device determines whether the first terminal and all second terminals are determined. The location information determines a second terminal that satisfies the proximity principle with the first terminal.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the application layer device sends the judgment result to the first terminal, further comprising:

The application layer device will determine that it has a function that can be discovered by other terminals and is related to the first The external identifiers and/or location information of all second terminals whose terminals satisfy the set social relationship and the proximity principle are fed back to the first terminal.

12. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: the application layer device sending the judgment result to the second terminal.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the application layer device sends the determination result to the first terminal and/or the second terminal through an application layer message.

14. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein satisfying the proximity principle means that the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies a set condition.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfying the setting condition includes: the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal. The distance is not greater than the set threshold, or the first terminal and the second terminal camp on the same cell, or the first terminal and the second terminal camp on the same base station.

16. An application layer device, characterized in that the application layer device includes:

The contract information acquisition module is used to obtain and store the contract information of each terminal;

The receiving module is configured to receive the proximity relationship discovery request of the first terminal, and determine that the first terminal has the function of being able to discover other terminals according to the subscription information corresponding to the first terminal stored in the subscription information acquisition module, wherein, The proximity discovery request carries the external identifier of the first terminal;

A location information acquisition module, used to obtain the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal; a determination module, used to determine whether the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy the proximity principle; a sending module, used to send the determination The module's judgment result is sent to the first terminal.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein the determination module is further configured to: before the location information acquisition module acquires the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, determine the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal. Whether the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy the set social relationship, where the set social relationship means that the identity relationship between terminals registered in the same social network satisfies the set condition.

18. The device according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that: the contract information acquisition Modules are specifically used for:

Receive and store the subscription information of each terminal sent by the intermediate interaction device, where the subscription information sent by the intermediate interaction device carries the external identifier of the terminal.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the determination module is further configured to: if the proximity relationship discovery request is: the first terminal requests to determine the first terminal and the second terminal designated by itself. Whether the proximity principle and the set social relationship are satisfied, and the proximity relationship discovery request also carries the external identifier of the second terminal;

Before the location information acquisition module obtains the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, it is determined based on the external identifier of the second terminal carried in the proximity relationship discovery request that the second terminal has the ability to be used by other terminals. The function of terminal discovery and the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy the set social relationship.

20. The device of claim 17, wherein the determination module is further configured to: if the proximity relationship discovery request is: the first terminal requests to determine that it satisfies the proximity principle and the device All second terminals of certain social relationships;

Before the location information acquisition module obtains the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, it is determined that all second terminals have the function of being discoverable by other terminals and satisfy the set social relationship with the first terminal. Terminal; and after the location information acquisition module receives the location information returned by the intermediate interactive device, determine the third terminal that satisfies the proximity principle with the first terminal based on the location information of the first terminal and all determined second terminals. Second terminal.

21. The device of claim 20, wherein the sending module is further configured to: send the determined social relationship with the first terminal that has a function that can be discovered by other terminals and satisfies the set social relationship with the first terminal; The external identifiers and/or location information of all second terminals in the proximity principle are fed back to the first terminal.

22. The device according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the sending module is further configured to: send the judgment result to the second terminal.

23. A communication system, characterized in that the communication system includes:

The application layer device is used to obtain and store the contract information of each terminal; after receiving the first terminal's After the proximity relationship discovery request is made, it is determined that the first terminal has the function of discovering other terminals according to the contract information corresponding to the first terminal; the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal is obtained, and the location information of the second terminal is determined. Whether the terminal and the first terminal satisfy the proximity principle, and sending the judgment result to the first terminal; wherein, the proximity relationship discovery request carries the external identifier of the first terminal;

The first terminal is configured to send a proximity discovery request to the application layer device, and receive the judgment result fed back by the application layer device.

24. The communication system according to claim 23, characterized in that the application layer device is also used for:

Before obtaining the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, it is also determined whether the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy a set social relationship, wherein the set social relationship refers to The identity relationship between terminals registered in the same social network satisfies the set conditions.

25. The communication system according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that the communication system further includes: MME, intermediate interactive equipment and HSS; wherein,

The MME is configured to send a subscription information acquisition request to the HSS, and send feedback from the HSS to the intermediate interactive device, where the subscription information acquisition request carries the internal identification of the terminal;

The HSS is configured to obtain the internal identifier carried in the request for obtaining the contract information according to the received contract information, obtain the contract information corresponding to the internal identifier from the contract information stored by itself, and store the obtained contract information and itself. The mapping relationship between the internal identifier and the external identifier of the terminal is sent to the MME;

The intermediate interaction device is configured to save the received mapping relationship between the internal identifier and the external identifier of the terminal, and send the received subscription information of the terminal to the application layer server.

26. The communication system according to claim 25, characterized in that the MME is also used for: the intermediate interaction layer device;

The intermediate interaction layer device is also used to: save the identification information of the MME where the terminal currently resides. interest.

27. The communication system according to claim 26, wherein after the MME where a terminal currently resides changes, the MME where the terminal currently resides is also used to: send an update request to the intermediate interactive device, The update request carries its own identification information and the internal identification of the terminal; the intermediate interaction device is also configured to: update its own stored identification information of the MME where the terminal currently resides according to the received update request.

28. The communication system according to claim 23 or 24, wherein the application layer device is further configured to: initiate a location information acquisition request to the intermediate interaction device, and the location information acquisition request carries the terminal external identification;

The intermediate interaction device is also configured to: determine the internal identifier corresponding to the external identifier carried in the received location information acquisition request according to the mapping relationship between the internal identifier and the external identifier saved by itself, and send the request to the MME where the terminal currently resides. Initiate a location query request, the location information query request carries the internal identifier of the terminal; and send feedback from the MME where the terminal currently resides to the application layer device;

The MME where the terminal currently resides is also used to: obtain the location information of the terminal according to the internal identifier carried in the received location query request, and send the obtained location information to the intermediate interaction device and carry the terminal The internal identification of , wherein the location information includes: one or a combination of: the ID of the cell where the terminal is currently camped, the ID of the base station where the terminal is currently camped, and the geographical location information of the terminal.

29. The communication system according to claim 25, characterized in that the intermediate interaction device and the machine type communication interaction function MTC-IWF entity are co-located; or the intermediate interaction device and the HSS are co-located.

30. A network device, characterized by including:

The network interface is used to obtain the subscription information of the terminal; and, receives the proximity discovery request of the first terminal;

A memory, used to store the subscription information of the terminal obtained by the network interface;

A processor configured to: after the network interface receives a proximity discovery request from the first terminal, If it is determined that the first terminal has the function of discovering other terminals according to the contract information corresponding to the first terminal, then the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal is obtained, and the relationship between the second terminal and the second terminal is determined. Whether the first terminal satisfies the proximity principle and sends the judgment result to the first terminal through the network interface; wherein the proximity relationship discovery request carries the external identifier of the first terminal.

31. The network device according to claim 30, wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether the first terminal and the second terminal are located before the network interface obtains the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal. Whether the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy the set social relationship, wherein the satisfying the set social relationship means that the identity relationship between terminals registered in the same social network satisfies the set condition.

32. The network device according to claim 30 or 31, wherein the proximity relationship discovery request is: the first terminal requests to determine whether the first terminal and the second terminal designated by itself satisfy the proximity principle. and the set social relationship, the proximity relationship discovery request also carries the external identifier of the second terminal;

The processor is further configured to, before obtaining the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, determine that the second terminal has a capability that can be used by other terminals based on the external identifier of the second terminal carried in the proximity discovery request. The function of terminal discovery and the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy the set social relationship.

33. The network device according to claim 31, wherein if the proximity relationship discovery request is: the first terminal requests to determine all third terminals that satisfy the proximity principle and the set social relationship with itself. two terminals; the processor is further configured to, before obtaining the location information of the first terminal and the second terminal, determine whether the terminal has a function that can be discovered by other terminals and meets the settings of the first terminal. all secondary terminals of social relations;

The processor determines whether the second terminal and the first terminal satisfy the proximity principle, further including: after receiving the location information returned by the intermediate interactive device, based on the location information of the first terminal and all determined second terminals. location information to determine the second terminal that satisfies the proximity principle with the first terminal.

34. The network device according to claim 33, wherein the network interface is specifically configured to determine whether the network device has a function that can be discovered by other terminals and satisfies the set social relationship with the first terminal. The external identification and/or location information of all second terminals and the proximity principle are fed back to the first terminal.

35. The network device according to claim 30 or 31, characterized in that the network interface is also used to send the judgment result to the second terminal.

36. The network device according to claim 30 or 31, wherein: satisfying the proximity principle means that the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies a set condition, and the first terminal The distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfying the set conditions includes: the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is not greater than a set threshold, or the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal The terminals camp on the same cell, or the first terminal and the second terminal camp on the same base station.