WO2021018021A1 - Charging method, charging system, and communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a charging method, a charging system, and a communication device, allowing the implementation of user granularity charging. Specifically, a session management function network element acquires a subscription permanent identifier and a user identifier, a user corresponding to the user identifier accessing a network via a device corresponding to the subscription permanent identifier; then, requests a policy control function network element for a charging rule to which the subscription permanent identifier and the user identifier jointly correspond, the charging rule comprising a charging key value corresponding to the user identifier; and then, executes the charging rule.

Description

Charging method, charging system and communication device

This application claims the priority of a Chinese patent application filed with the Chinese Patent Office, the application number is 201910702418.X, and the application name is "billing method, billing system and communication device" on July 31, 2019, the entire content of which is by reference Incorporated in this application.

Technical field

This application relates to the field of communications, and more specifically, to a charging method, a charging system, and a communication device.

Background technique

The following scenarios exist in the communication network: multiple users share the same device to access a specific business/application service, for example, multiple users in the same game application access the game server via the core network through the same terminal device; multiple user devices Access through the same home gateway (equivalent to terminal equipment), and access specific services through the core network. In scenarios similar to the above, the core network needs to support granular charging for actual users instead of granular charging for terminal devices.

Therefore, how to achieve actual user-granularity charging is an urgent problem to be solved.

Summary of the invention

This application provides a charging method, a charging system, and a communication device, which can realize user-granular charging.

In a first aspect, a charging method is provided, including: a session management function network element obtains a subscription permanent identification and a user identification, and the user corresponding to the user identification accesses the network through the equipment corresponding to the subscription permanent identification; the session management function The network element sends a policy association request message to the policy control function network element. The policy association request message includes the subscription permanent identification and the user identification; the session management function network element receives the subscription permanent identification and the subscription permanent identification sent by the policy control function network element. A charging rule corresponding to the user ID, and the charging rule includes a charging key value corresponding to the user ID; the session management function network element executes the charging rule.

Exemplarily, the subscription permanent identifier may be a user permanent identifier (subscription permanent identifier, SUPI), or a public subscription identifier (generic public subscription identifier, GPSI), or information after the SUPI is renamed as the protocol evolves. Exemplarily, the user identification may be defined and managed by a third party, or may also be defined and managed by an operator.

Optionally, the policy association request message may be a policy association establishment request message or a policy association update request message.

According to the method provided in this application, after the session management function network element obtains the charging key value corresponding to the user identifier from the policy control function network element, it can provide the charging function network element with the usage information corresponding to the charging key value, thereby achieving User ID or user ID corresponding to the granular billing of the user.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the session management function network element acquiring a user identity includes: the session management function network element receiving an authentication response message sent by a data network (DN), The authentication response message includes the user identification.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the session management function network element acquiring a user identity includes: the session management function network element receiving a session establishment request message sent by a terminal device, and the session establishment request message includes The user identification; or, the session management function network element receives a session modification request message sent by the terminal device, and the session modification request message includes the user identification.

Through the above two methods, the session management function network element can obtain the user identity.

Optionally, the "session" described in this application may be a protocol data unit (PDU) session, but this application does not limit this.

In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the session management function network element may obtain the session management request from the session establishment request message or the session modification request message or the session management request sent by the access and mobility management function network element Get the permanent sign of the contract in the message.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the session management function network element executes charging rules, including: the session management function network element obtains charging information from the charging function network element, and the charging information Including one or more of authorized business quotas, reporting thresholds, and trigger events; the session management function network element generates packet detection rules (PDR) and usage reports based on charging information, charging rules, and local configuration Rule (usage reporting rule, URR); the session management function network element sends the PDR and URR to the user plane function network element, and the PDR and URR are used by the user plane function network element to report usage information obtained according to the PDR and URR; The session management function network element receives the usage information reported by the user plane function network element and obtained according to the PDR and URR.

Further, the method may further include: the session management function network element generates a usage report according to the usage information, and according to charging information and/or local configuration.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the session management function network element generates a usage report, the usage report including the billing key, the subscription permanent identifier, and usage information, the The usage information is the usage information corresponding to the billing key value and the contract permanent identifier; the session management function network element sends the usage report to the charging function network element, and the usage report is used for the charging function network element to generate the user Identifies the corresponding CDR information.

Optionally, the usage report is generated by the session management function network element according to the usage information and according to charging information and/or local configuration.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the session management function network element executing the charging rule includes: the session management function network element sends a charging request message to the charging function network element, and the accounting The charge request message includes the subscription permanent identification and the charging key value; the session management function network element receives the charge corresponding to the subscription permanent identification and the charging key value corresponding to the user identification sent by the charging function network element Information, the charging information includes one or more of authorized service quota, reporting threshold, and trigger event, wherein the usage report is generated based on the charging information.

In a second aspect, a charging method is provided, which includes: a session management function network element receives a session establishment request message or a session modification request message, the session establishment request message is used to establish a session with a device corresponding to a subscription permanent identification, and the session modification The request message is used to modify the session of the device corresponding to the subscription permanent identification; the session management function network element obtains the user identification and the charging rules for the session, and the user corresponding to the user identification accesses the network through the device corresponding to the subscription permanent identification; session The management function network element executes the charging rules of the session to generate a usage report corresponding to the user ID; the session management function network element sends the usage report to the charging function network element, and the usage report includes the user ID and the usage report The network element for the charging function generates the call bill information corresponding to the user identifier.

Exemplarily, the subscription permanent identifier may be the user permanent identifier (subscription permanent identifier, SUPI), or the public subscription identifier (generic public subscription identifier, GPSI), or the information after the SUPI is renamed as the protocol evolves. Exemplarily, the user identification may be defined and managed by a third party, or may also be defined and managed by an operator.

According to the method provided in this application, the session management function network element can obtain the user ID corresponding to the current session, and by sending the usage information corresponding to the user ID to the charging function network element, the charging function network element can generate the corresponding user ID Call bill information to achieve user identification granularity charging.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the session management function network element acquiring the user identity includes: the session management function network element receiving an authentication response message sent by the DN, the authentication response message including the User ID; or,

The session management function network element receives a session establishment request message sent by a terminal device, where the session establishment request message includes the user identifier; or,

The session management function network element receives a session modification request message sent by a terminal device, and the session modification request message includes the user identifier.

Through the foregoing method, the session management function network element can obtain the user identification.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the session management function network element acquiring the charging rules of the session includes: the session management function network element sends a policy association request message to the policy control function network element, The policy association request message includes the subscription permanent identification and the user identification, and the policy association request message is used to request the charging rule corresponding to the user identification; the session management function network element receives the session information sent by the policy control function network element Charging rule, the charging rule of the session is the charging rule corresponding to the user ID.

Optionally, the charging rule corresponding to the user ID includes a charging key value, and the charging key value is a charging key value corresponding to the user ID. Therefore, the session management function network element can count the usage information corresponding to the charging key value corresponding to the user identifier.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the session management function network element executes the charging rules for the session, including: the session management function network element sends a charging request message to the charging function network element , The charging request message includes the user ID, and the charging request message is used to request charging information corresponding to the user ID; the session management function network element receives the charging corresponding to the user ID sent by the charging function network element Information, the charging information includes one or more of authorized service quota, reporting threshold, and trigger event, wherein the usage report is generated based on the charging information.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the session management function network element executes the charging rules for the session: including: the session management function network element sends a usage reporting rule to the user plane function network element, the The usage reporting rule includes the user ID; receiving usage information corresponding to the user ID sent by the user plane function network element; and generating the usage report according to the usage information and the billing information.

In a third aspect, a charging system is provided, which includes: a session management function network element and a policy control function network element; the session management function network element is used to obtain a subscription permanent identity and a user identity, and the user corresponding to the user identity The device corresponding to the subscription permanent identification is connected to the network; a policy association request message is sent to the policy control function network element, and the policy association request message includes the subscription permanent identification and the user identification; the policy control function network element is used to The session management function network element sends the charging rule corresponding to the contract permanent identity and the user identity, and the charging rule includes the charging key value corresponding to the user identity; the session management function network element is also used to perform the charging rule.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the charging system further includes a charging function network element; and, the session management function network element is used to execute the charging rule, including: the session management function The network element sends a charging request message to the charging function network element, the charging request message includes the subscription permanent identification and the charging key value; receiving the subscription permanent identification sent by the charging function network element corresponds to the user identification The charging information that corresponds to the charging key value of, the charging information includes one or more of authorized service quota, reporting threshold and trigger event.

It should be understood that the charging system can implement the first aspect or the method in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, a charging system is provided, including: a network element including a session management function and a network element with a charging function;

The session management function network element is used to receive a session establishment request message or a session modification request message, the session establishment request message is used to establish a session of the device corresponding to the subscription permanent identification, and the session modification request message is used to modify the subscription permanent identification. The session of the device; obtain the user ID and the charging rule of the session, the user corresponding to the user ID accesses the network through the device corresponding to the subscription permanent ID; execute the charging rule of the session to generate the usage amount corresponding to the user ID Report; send the usage report to the charging function network element; the charging function network element is used to generate the call bill information corresponding to the user ID according to the usage report.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the charging system further includes a policy control function network element for: receiving a policy association request message sent by the session management function network element, the policy association request message Including the subscription permanent identification and the user identification, the policy association request message is used to request the charging rule corresponding to the user identification; the charging rule of the session is sent to the session management function network element, and the charging rule of the session is the The charging rule corresponding to the user ID.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the system further includes a user plane function network element for: receiving a usage reporting rule sent by the session management function network element, where the usage reporting rule includes the user identification ; Send usage information corresponding to the user identifier to the session management function network element; and, the session management function network element is also used to: generate the usage report based on the usage information and the charging information.

It should be understood that the charging system can implement the second aspect or the method in any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device may be a session management function network element or a chip. The device has the function of realizing the network element of the session management function in any one of the foregoing first aspect to the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of any one of the aspects. This function can be realized by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

It should be understood that the communication device may also be a policy control function network element, a charging function network element, or a user plane function network element, and the communication device may be used to implement any one or any of the first to second aspects above. On the one hand, the function of the corresponding network element in any possible implementation manner.

In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided, which includes a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The processor is connected to the memory and the transceiver. The memory is used to store instructions, the processor is used to execute the instructions, and the transceiver is used to communicate with other network elements under the control of the processor. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the execution causes the apparatus to execute the session management function network element method in any of the foregoing aspects or any possible implementation manner in any aspect.

Optionally, there are one or more processors and one or more memories.

Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor may be provided separately.

In the specific implementation process, the memory can be a non-transitory (non-transitory) memory, such as a read only memory (ROM), which can be integrated with the processor on the same chip, or can be set in different On the chip, the embodiment of the application does not limit the type of memory and the setting mode of the memory and the processor

In a seventh aspect, an apparatus is provided, which includes a processor and a transceiver. The processor is connected to the transceiver. The processor is used to execute instructions, and the transceiver is used to communicate with other network elements under the control of the processor. When the processor executes the instruction, the execution causes the device to execute the session management function network element method in any of the foregoing aspects or any possible implementation manner in any aspect.

In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, and the computer-readable medium stores a computer program (also called code, or instruction) when it runs on a computer, so that the computer executes the first to second aspects above. Aspect and the method in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the second aspect.

In a ninth aspect, a communication chip is provided, in which instructions are stored, which when running on a computer device, cause the communication chip to execute any of the above-mentioned first to second aspects in any possible implementation manner Methods.

In a tenth aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided. When the instructions are run on a computer, the computer executes any one of the first aspect and the second aspect or any possible implementation method.

Description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture to which an embodiment of the present application is applied;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another system architecture to which an embodiment of the present application is applied;

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a 5G system to which this application is applied;

Figure 4 is a diagram of a local roaming architecture applying an embodiment of this application;

Figure 5 is an architecture diagram of home routing roaming using an embodiment of this application;

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a service-oriented architecture of a 5G system to which this application is applied;

Fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a computer device to which an embodiment of the present application is applied;

FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart of a charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic flowchart of another charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

The technical solution in this application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a charging system provided by this application. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 includes a session management function network element 110 and a policy control function network element 120. Optionally, the system 100 may further include a charging function network element 130. The system 100 may be used to implement a charging method in the embodiment of the present application.

The session management function network element 110 is used to: obtain the subscription permanent identification and the user identification, the user corresponding to the user identification accesses the network through the device corresponding to the subscription permanent identification; and send a policy association request message to the policy control function network element 120, a policy association request The message includes the subscription permanent identification and the user identification. The policy association request message is used to request the charging rule corresponding to the subscription permanent identification and the user identification; the charging rule sent by the policy control function network element 120 is received, and the charging rule includes the user identification. Corresponding charging key value; execute the charging rule.

Correspondingly, the policy control function network element 120 is used to: receive the policy association request message sent by the session management function network element 110; and send to the session management function network element 110 the subscription permanent identification and user requested by the policy association request message Identifies a common corresponding charging rule, and the charging rule includes a charging key corresponding to the user ID.

The policy association request message may be a policy association establishment request message or a policy association modification request message.

In a possible implementation manner, the session management function network element 110 is used to obtain a user identity, including: the session management function network element 110 is used to receive an authentication response message sent by a data network (DN), and the authentication The response message includes the user identification.

In another possible implementation manner, the session management function network element 110 is configured to obtain a user identity, including: the session management function network element receives a session establishment request message sent by a terminal device, and the session establishment request message includes the user identity.

Optionally, the "session" described here and in the following may be a protocol data unit (protocol data unit, PDU) session, but this application does not limit this.

In another possible implementation manner, the session management network element 110 is configured to obtain a user identification, including: the session management network element receives a session modification request message sent by a terminal, and the session modification request message includes the user identification.

In a possible implementation manner, the session management function network element 110 is further used to generate a usage report, and send the usage report to the charging function network element 130. Wherein, the usage report includes the billing key value, the subscription permanent identifier, and usage information. The usage report is used for the charging function network element 130 to generate call bill information corresponding to the user identification. Correspondingly, the charging function network element 130 is also used to receive the usage report, and generate call bill information corresponding to the user identifier according to the usage report.

Optionally, the session management function network element 110 is configured to execute the charging rule, and further includes: the session management function network element 110 is configured to send a charging request message to the charging function network element 130, the charging request message Including the subscription permanent identification and the charging key value, the charging request message is used to request the charging information corresponding to the charging key value of the subscription permanent identification and the user identification, and the charging information includes authorized service quota One or more of the reporting threshold and the trigger event; the session management function network element 110 receives the charging information sent by the charging function network element 130. And, that the session management function network element 110 is configured to generate a usage report includes: the session management function network element 110 is configured to generate a usage report according to the charging information.

Correspondingly, the charging function network element 130 is also used to send the charging information to the session management function network element 110.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another charging system to which an embodiment of the present application is applied. As shown in FIG. 2, the system 200 includes: a session management function network element 210 and a charging function network element 220. Optionally, the system 200 may further include a policy control function network element 230. The system 200 can be used to execute another charging method in the embodiment of the present application.

The session management function network element 210 is used to receive a session establishment request message or a session modification request message, the session establishment request is used to establish a session of the device corresponding to the subscription permanent identification, and the session modification request message is used to modify the device corresponding to the subscription permanent identification The session; obtain the user ID and the charging rules for the session, the user corresponding to the user ID accesses the network through the device corresponding to the subscription permanent ID; execute the charging rules for the session to generate a usage report corresponding to the user ID ; Send the usage report to the charging function network element 220, the usage report including the user ID, and the usage report is used for the charging function network element 220 to generate call bill information corresponding to the user ID.

Correspondingly, the charging function network element 220 is used to receive the usage report, and according to the usage report, generate call bill information corresponding to the user ID.

In a possible implementation manner, the session management function network element 210 is used to obtain a user identity, including: the session management function network element 210 is used to receive an authentication response message sent by a data network (DN), and the authentication The response message includes the user identification.

In another possible implementation manner, the session management function network element 210 is configured to obtain a user identity, including: the session management function network element 210 receives a session establishment request message sent by a terminal device, and the session establishment request message includes the user identity.

In another possible implementation manner, the session management network element 210 is configured to obtain a user identification, including: the session management function network element 210 receives a session modification request message sent by a terminal device, and the session modification request message includes the user identification.

In a possible implementation manner, the session management function network element 210 is used to obtain the charging rules of the session, including: the session management function network element 210 is used to send a policy association request message to the policy control function network element 230, and the policy The association request message includes the permanent subscription ID and the user ID; the charging rule of the session sent by the policy control function network element 230 is received, and the charging rule of the session is the charging rule corresponding to the user ID.

Correspondingly, the policy control function network element 230 is configured to receive the policy association request message, and send the charging rule of the session to the session management function network element 210.

In another possible implementation manner, the session management function network element 210 is used to obtain the charging rules of the session, including: the session management function network element 210 is used to send a policy association update request message to the policy control function network element 230, The policy association update request message includes the subscription permanent identification and the user identification; the charging rule of the session sent by the policy control function network element 230 is received, and the charging rule of the session is the charging rule corresponding to the user identification.

Correspondingly, the policy control function network element 230 is configured to receive the policy association update request message, and send the charging rule of the session to the session management function network element 210.

In a possible implementation manner, the session management function network element 210 is used to execute the charging rule, including: the session management function network element 210 is used to send a charging request message to the charging function network element 220, and the calculation The charge request message includes the user ID, the charging request message is used to request the charging information corresponding to the user ID, and the charging information includes one or more of authorized service quota, reporting threshold, and trigger event; receiving charging In the charging information sent by the functional network element 220, the usage report is generated based on the charging information.

Correspondingly, the charging function network element 220 is configured to receive the charging request message and send the charging information to the session management function network element 210.

It should be noted that the policy control function network element, session management function network element, and charging function network element involved in this article are only a name, and the name does not constitute a limitation on the device itself. In 5G networks and other future networks, the policy control function network element, the session management function network element, and the charging function network element may also have other names, which are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the policy control function network element may also be replaced with a policy control function (PCF) or PCF entity, and the session management function network element may be replaced with a session management function (SMF) or SMF entity. The charging function network element can be replaced with a charging function (CHF) or CHF entity.

Optionally, the functions of the above-mentioned policy control function network element, session management function network element, and charging function network element may be implemented by a single device, or integrated on one or two devices, or may be implemented by one or more devices. This function module is implemented, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the above-mentioned functions implemented by each network element can be implemented by network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualization functions instantiated on platforms (for example, cloud platforms).

It should be understood that the charging system described in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 may also include other network elements that interact or communicate with the network elements in the figures, which is not limited.

The terminal (terminal) equipment in the embodiments of the present application may refer to user equipment (UE), access terminal, terminal in V2X communication, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, Mobile equipment, user terminal, terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, user agent or user device. The terminal can also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a wireless communication function Handheld devices, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in the future 5G network or terminals in the future evolution of the public land mobile network (PLMN) Devices, etc., are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The terminal may also include a V2X device, such as a vehicle or an onboard unit (OBU) in the vehicle.

The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application is connected to a radio access network (radio access network, RAN) device in a wireless manner, and the radio access network device is connected to a core network device in a wireless or wired manner. The core network device and the wireless access network device can be separate and different physical devices, or they can integrate the functions of the core network device and the logical function of the wireless access network device on the same physical device, or it can be a physical device It integrates the functions of part of the core network equipment and part of the wireless access network equipment. The terminal can be a fixed location, or it can be movable.

Radio access network equipment is the access equipment that terminal equipment accesses to the mobile communication system through wireless means, which can be base station NodeB, evolved base station eNodeB, base station (gNodeB, gNB) in 5G mobile communication system, and future mobile communication The base station in the system or the access node in the wireless fidelity (wireless fidelity, WiFi) system, etc., can also be the wireless controller in the cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or the access network The device may be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a network device in a future 5G network or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network, etc. The embodiments of the present application adopt specific wireless access network devices. The technology and specific equipment form are not limited.

The core network equipment includes, for example, a broadcast multicast service center (BMSC), etc., or may also include corresponding functional entities in the 5G system, such as a core network control plane (CP) or user plane (user plan, UP) Network functions, such as SMF, access and mobility management function (AMF), etc. Among them, the core network control plane can also be understood as a core network control plane function (CPF) entity.

Optionally, the system 100 shown in FIG. 1 or the system 200 shown in FIG. 2 may be applied to a 5G network and other possible networks in the future, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Among them, when the system shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2 is applied to the 5G network shown in Figure 3 or Figure 6, the above-mentioned session management function network element may be the SMF in 5G, and the policy control function network element may be the PCF in 5G. The fee function network element may be CHF in the 5G system. When the system shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2 is applied to the 5G network shown in Figure 4, the above-mentioned session management function network element may be the SMF of the visited place in 5G, and the policy control function network element may be the visited place policy control function in 5G (visited-policy control function, V-PCF). When the system shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2 is applied to the 5G network shown in Figure 5, the above-mentioned session management function network element may be the home session management function (H-SMF) in 5G, and the policy control function network The element may be a home-policy control function (H-PCF) in 5G.

The following will illustrate 5G systems in different scenarios with reference to Figures 3 to 6. It should be understood that the 5G system described in this article is only an example, and should not constitute any limitation to this application.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a basic 5G system 300 architecture. As shown in Fig. 3, the system 300 includes: access and mobility management function (AMF), session management function (session management function, SMF), radio access network (RAN), Unified data management (UDM), policy control function (PCF), data network (DN), user plane function (UPF), UE, application function (application function, AF), unified data storage (unified data repository, UDR) and charging function (charging function, CHF). Optionally, Figure 3 may also include the following functions (not shown in Figure 3): network slice selection function (NSSF), authentication server function (authentication server function, AUSF), capability opening function (network slice selection function, NSSF) exposure function, NEF), network storage function (NF repository function, NRF).

Among them, the main functions of each network element are described as follows:

AF: It can be understood as the naming of application function network elements in the 5G architecture. Among them, the application function network element mainly conveys the requirements of the application side on the network side, for example, quality of service (QoS) requirements. The AF may be a third-party functional entity, or an application service deployed by an operator, such as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice call service.

UDM: It can be understood as the naming of unified data management network elements in the 5G architecture. Among them, the unified data management network element mainly includes the following functions: unified data management, support for authentication credential processing in 3GPP authentication and key agreement mechanism, user identity processing, access authorization, registration and mobility management, contract management, short message Management etc.

UDR: It can be understood as the naming of unified data storage network elements in the 5G architecture. Among them, the unified data storage network element mainly includes the following functions: access functions for type data such as subscription data, policy data, and application data.

PCF: It can be understood as the naming of policy control function network elements in the 5G architecture. Among them, the policy control function network element is mainly responsible for the policy control functions such as charging for the session and service flow level, quality of service (QoS) bandwidth guarantee and mobility management, and UE policy decision-making. In this system, the PCF connected to the AMF and SMF is the access and mobility control PCF (PCF for access and mobility control, AM PCF) and the session management PCF (PCF for session management, SM PCF). In actual deployment, the AM PCF It may not be the same PCF entity as SM PCF.

SMF: It can be understood as the naming of the session management network element in the 5G architecture. Among them, the session management network element mainly performs functions such as session management, the execution of the control policy issued by the PCF, the selection of the UPF, and the UE IP address allocation.

AMF: It can be understood as the naming of mobility management network elements in the 5G architecture. Among them, the mobility management network element mainly includes the following functions: connection management, mobility management, registration management, access authentication and authorization, reachability management, security context management and other access and mobility-related functions.

UPF: It can be understood as the naming of user plane function network elements in the 5G architecture. Among them, the user plane function network element mainly includes the following functions: data packet routing and transmission, packet inspection, service usage reporting, QoS processing, lawful monitoring, upstream packet inspection, downstream data packet storage and other user-related functions.

(R)AN: (wireless) access network, corresponding to different access networks in 5G, such as wired access and wireless base station access.

DN: Data network, used to identify the name of the operator's network access point. In this application, the DN may also include authentication, authorization, and accounting (authentication, authorization, accounting, AAA) server functions, which are responsible for performing secondary authentication for users.

CHF: Charging function. Responsible for reporting charging status information to PCF, and interacting with SMF to achieve quota management and charging control.

Among them, the interface functions are described as follows:

N7: The interface between PCF and SMF, used to issue PDU session granularity and service data flow granularity control strategy.

N15: The interface between PCF and AMF, used to issue UE policies and access control related policies.

N5: The interface between AF and PCF, used for application service request issuance and network event reporting.

N4: The interface between SMF and UPF, used to transfer information between the control plane and the user plane, including controlling the issuance of user-oriented forwarding rules, QoS control rules, traffic statistics rules, etc., and user-plane information reporting.

N11: The interface between SMF and AMF, used to transfer PDU session tunnel information between RAN and UPF, transfer control messages sent to UE, and transfer radio resource control information sent to RAN.

N2: An interface between AMF and RAN, used to transfer radio bearer control information from the core network side to the RAN.

N1: The interface between the AMF and the UE, which has nothing to do with access, and is used to transfer QoS control rules to the UE.

N8: The interface between AMF and UDM, used for AMF to obtain access and mobility management related subscription data and authentication data from UDM, and AMF to register UE current mobility management related information with UDM, etc.

N10: The interface between SMF and UDM, used for SMF to obtain session management related subscription data from UDM, and SMF to register UE current session related information with UDM, etc.

N35: The interface between UDM and UDR, used for UDM to obtain user subscription data information from UDR.

N36: The interface between the PCF and the UDR, used for the PCF to obtain policy-related contract data and application data related information from the UDR.

N3: The interface between RAN and UPF, used to transfer user plane data between RAN and UPF.

N6: The interface between UPF and DN, used to transfer user plane data between UPF and DN.

N9: The interface between UPF and UPF, such as the interface between the visited-policy control function (V-PCF) and the home-policy control function (H-PCF), or with The interface between the UPF connected to the DN and the UPF connected to the RAN is used to transfer user plane data between UPFs.

N28: The interface between the PCF and the CHF, used for the PCF to subscribe to the UDR for policy counter information, such as user balance status, remaining traffic status, etc.

N40: The interface between SMF and CHF, used for SMF to report charging data to CHF, and to obtain credit threshold from CHF.

The 3rd generation partner project (the 3rd generation partner project, 3GPP) standard defines two roaming methods for users to access in the visited area, namely local breakout roaming and home access roaming. Routed roaming) two ways, respectively corresponding to the system shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the architecture of a 5G system 400 for local access roaming. As shown in Fig. 4, the system 400 includes: AMF, SMF, (R)AN, UDM, visited-policy control function (V-PCF), home-policy control function (home-policy control function, H-PCF), DN, UPF, UE, AF, CHF and UDR. Among them, the interface between V-PCF and H-PCF is N24. It should be understood that in Figure 4, except for UDM, UDR, CHF and H-PCF which are located on the home public land mobile network (H-PLMN) side, the other network elements are all located in the visited public land mobile communications network. Network (visited public land mobile network, V-PLMN) side.

Referring to Figure 4, in this roaming architecture, both AMF and SMF are located in the visited place, and the session management function is executed by the SMF functional entity in the visited place at this time. In addition, the V-PCF connected to the AMF and the V-PCF connected to the SMF correspond to AM PCF and SM PCF respectively, and AM PCF and SM PCF may not be the same PCF entity in actual scenarios. The charging rules involved in this application are provided by the V-PCF in the architecture to the SMF.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of the architecture of a 5G system 500 with access roaming in the home (or "hometown"). The difference between FIG. 5 and FIG. 4 is that the system 500 adds a home user plane function (H-UPF) and a home session management function (H-SMF). That is, both the V-PLMN side and the H-PLMN side include UPF and SMF. Among them, the UPF on the V-PLMN side is connected to the UPF on the H-PLMN side through the N9 interface, and the UPF on the H-PLMN side is connected to the DN through the N9 interface; V-SMF on the V-PLMN side and H-SMF on the H-PLMN side Connect through the N11 interface, H-SMF connects with the UPF on the H-PLMN side through the N4 interface, and H-SMF connects with the UDM through the N10 interface. H-PCF is connected to AF through N5 interface.

Referring to Figure 5, in this roaming architecture, the AMF is located in the visited place, and the session management function is performed by the H-SMF. In addition, the H-PCF connected to the V-PCF and the H-PCF connected to the H-SMF correspond to the AM PCF and SM PCF in this application, respectively. AM PCF and SM PCF may not be the same PCF entity in actual scenarios. It may be the same PCF entity. The charging rules involved in this application can be provided to the H-SMF by the H-PCF in the architecture.

It should be understood that the SM PCF is a policy control function entity connected to the SMF and is responsible for executing the session management policy rule decision function. AM PCF is a policy control function entity directly connected to AMF, which is responsible for executing the access control policy and the policy rule decision function of the UE policy.

It should be noted that the naming of each network element (such as V-PCF, H-PCF, AMF, etc.) included in FIG. 3, FIG. 4, or FIG. 5 is only a name, and the name does not limit the function of the network element itself. In 5G networks and other networks in the future, the aforementioned network elements may also have other names, which are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, in a 6G network, some or all of the above-mentioned network elements may use the terminology in 5G, or may be named in other ways, etc., which will be uniformly explained here and will not be repeated here.

Those skilled in the art can understand that the network elements in FIGS. 3 to 5 are only described as examples. In practice, the 5G system may also include other network elements that interact with the network elements illustrated in the figures, which will not be repeated here.

It should also be noted that the communication between the various network elements of the control plane function in FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 is described using a non-service interface as an example, but it does not limit the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can understand that the various network elements of the control plane functions in Figures 3 to 5 can also communicate through service-oriented interfaces. For example, the service-oriented interface provided by AMF can be Namf; the service-oriented interface provided by SMF can be Nsmf: The service-oriented interface provided by UDM can be Nudm, and the service-oriented interface provided by AF can be Naf; the service-oriented interface provided by PCF can be Npcf and so on.

The network elements in FIGS. 3 to 5 described above are based on the reference point architecture, which does not limit the embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of the architecture based on the service interface. As shown in FIG. 6, the per-architecture 600 includes: NSSF, AUSF, UDM, NEF, NRF, PCF, AF, AMF, SMF, UE, RAN, UPF, DN, and CHF. In Figure 6, the servicing interface provided by NSSF can be Nnssf, the servicing interface provided by NEF can be Nnef, the servicing interface provided by NRF can be Nnrf, and the servicing interface provided by AMF can be Namf; SMF The servicing interface provided by UDM can be Nsmf; the servicing interface provided by UDM can be Nudm, and the servicing interface provided by AF can be Naf; the servicing interface provided by PCF can be Npcf, and the servicing interface provided by AUSF can be Nausf, the servicing interface provided by CHF to the outside world can be Nchf; the interface between the control plane function and RAN and UPF is a non-serving interface. The UE is connected to the AMF through the N1 interface, the UE is connected to the RAN through the radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) protocol; the RAN is connected to the AMF through the N2 interface, and the RAN is connected to the UPF through the N3 interface; the UPF is connected to the DN through the N6 interface. , UPF connects with SMF through N4 interface. For related descriptions, reference may be made to the 5G system architecture (5G system architecture) in the standard. For brevity, the connection relationship of the architecture 600 is not described here.

The specific working process and beneficial effects of the network elements in the system of FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 can be referred to the description in the method embodiment below.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic block diagram of a computer device 700 to which an embodiment of the present application is applied. The above-mentioned session management function network element, policy control function network element, and charging function network element can all be implemented by the computer device in FIG. 7. It should be understood that the computer device may be a physical device, or a component of the physical device (for example, an integrated circuit, a chip, etc.), or a functional module in the physical device.

As shown in FIG. 7, the computer device includes: one or more processors 701. The processor 701 may store execution instructions for executing the method in the embodiments of the present application. Optionally, an interface may be called in the processor 701 to implement receiving and sending functions. The interface may be a logical interface or a physical interface, which is not limited. For example, the interface can be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuits or interface circuits used to implement the receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The foregoing transceiver circuit or interface circuit can be used for code/data reading and writing, or the foregoing transceiver circuit or interface circuit can be used for signal transmission or transmission.

Optionally, the interface can be implemented by a transceiver. Optionally, the computer device 700 may further include a transceiver 703. The transceiver 703 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., for implementing the transceiver function.

Optionally, the computer device may further include a memory 702. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the specific deployment location of the memory 702. The memory may be integrated in the processor or independent of the processor. For the case where the computer device does not include a memory, the computer device only needs to have processing functions, and the memory can be deployed in other locations (for example, a cloud system).

The processor 701, the memory 702, and the transceiver 703 communicate with each other through an internal connection path to transfer control and/or data signals.

It should be understood that, although not shown, the computer equipment 700 may also include other devices, such as an input device, an output device, a battery, and so on.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the memory 702 may store execution instructions for executing the methods in the embodiments of the present application. The processor 701 may execute instructions stored in the memory 702 in combination with other hardware (for example, the transceiver 703) to complete the steps executed by the method shown below. For specific working processes and beneficial effects, refer to the description in the method embodiments below.

The method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to the processor 703 or implemented by the processor 703. The processor 703 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the method can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or instructions in the form of software. The above-mentioned processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a ready-made programmable gate array (field programmable gate array, FPGA) or other Programming logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. The methods, steps, and logical block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as being executed and completed by a hardware decoding processor, or executed and completed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (read-only memory, ROM), programmable read-only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. mature in the field Storage medium. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the instructions in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

It is understood that the memory 702 may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be read-only memory ROM, programmable read-only memory (programmable ROM, PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (erasable PROM, EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (electrically EPROM, EEPROM) or flash memory. The volatile memory may be random access memory RAM, which acts as an external cache. By way of exemplary but not restrictive description, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (static RAM, SRAM), dynamic random access memory (dynamic RAM, DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double data rate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchronous connection dynamic random access memory (synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM) ) And direct memory bus random access memory (direct rambus RAM, DR RAM). It should be noted that the memories of the systems and methods described herein are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

The aforementioned computer device 700 may be a general-purpose computer device or a special-purpose computer device. In a specific implementation, the computer device 700 may be a desktop computer, a portable computer, a network server, a palmtop computer (personal digital assistant, PDA), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal device, a communication device, an embedded device, or an embedded device as shown in Figure 7. Similar structure equipment. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of the computer device 700.

In addition, the network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. Those of ordinary skill in the art will know that With the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

In the following, the method provided in this application is applied to a 5G system as an example to describe the charging method provided in this application. It should be understood that this method can also be applied to other systems, and correspondingly, the network elements should also be replaced with network elements with the same or similar functions in the system. It should also be noted that the signaling involved in the interaction between the network elements described in this article uses the corresponding signaling in the prior art or existing protocol. In practice, these signaling can also be replaced. For other names, as long as the corresponding functions can be realized. In addition, the following uses the "session" in this application as an example to describe each method. In practice, the PDU session can also be replaced with other sessions.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic flowchart of a charging method 800 according to an embodiment of the present application. The charging method 800 will be described in detail below in conjunction with each step.

S801: The SMF obtains the contract permanent identification and the user identification.

Specifically, in the process of establishing or modifying a PDU session, SMF can obtain the permanent subscription ID and user ID corresponding to the PDU session, that is, SMF can obtain the user ID and permanent subscription ID corresponding to the PDU session currently requested to be established or modified . Among them, the user corresponding to the user ID accesses the network through the device corresponding to the contract permanent ID, or in other words, the contract permanent ID refers to the ID of the device requesting the establishment or modification of the PDU session, and the user ID refers to the actual request for establishment or modification For the user of the PDU session, the service flow corresponding to the PDU session established by the PDU session establishment request message is the service flow under the user identifier.

Exemplarily, the subscription permanent identifier may be a user permanent identifier (subscription permanent identifier, SUPI), or a public subscription identifier (generic public subscription identifier, GPSI), or information after the SUPI is renamed as the protocol evolves. Exemplarily, the user identification may be defined and managed by a third party, or may also be defined and managed by an operator. For example, the user identification may be an Apple ID, WeChat ID, or WeChat ID managed/assigned by a third party, or a Telecom Tianyi account, China Mobile And, and account managed/assigned by an operator. For another example, the user identifier may be a data network specific identifier (DN-SpecificIdentify), or may also be information representing a user in a specific context defined in the current protocol (information representing a user in a specific context).

In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the difference between the user ID and the contracted permanent ID, the following describes this in combination with three scenarios.

Scenario 1: Multiple users access the network through the same UE in time sharing

In this scenario, the permanent subscription identifier can be the permanent subscription identifier (such as SUPI) that the UE subscribes in the operator network. At different times, the user identifier is the account identifier (identifier, ID) of the corresponding user who accesses the corresponding time at that time. For example, different users access game services through the same game client on the terminal with their own account IDs.

Scenario 2: Multiple applications on the same UE or multiple users behind the same UE access the network through the UE

In this scenario, the contracted permanent identity can be the signed permanent identity of the UE in the operator network, and the user identity can be the application ID of different applications, or the user ID corresponding to different users, such as the child system account in parent protection. ID.

Scenario 3: Multiple terminal devices access the network through UE (for example, Residential Gateway).

In this scenario, the contract permanent identification is the contract permanent identification of the home gateway contracted in the operator network, and the account IDs allocated by the third party to the multiple terminal devices can be used as a user identification. For example, when the multiple terminal devices are notebooks, smart watches, tablet computers, etc., the user identification may be the device ID corresponding to the terminal device, or the Apple account ID that is logged in.

In a possible implementation manner, the SMF may obtain the user identity from the PDU session establishment request message or the PDU session modification request message sent by the UE.

Specifically, when the UE requests to establish or modify a PDU session, the user identifier may be carried in the PDU session establishment or modification request message sent to the SMF. Therefore, the SMF can obtain the user identity from the PDU session establishment or modification request message sent by the UE.

After the SMF receives the PDU session establishment or modification request message, it can execute the session configuration action. The session configuration action package may include: (1) Determine session configuration parameters, such as session and service continuity (session and service continuity, SSC) mode (mode), contract quality of service (QoS) parameters, etc.; (2) ) Determine whether the user ID carried by the UE is credible by interacting with UDM/AUSF, for example, by sending an authentication request message containing the user ID and the permanent contract ID to UDM/AUSF to determine whether the UE is allowed to initiate PDUs with the user ID Conversation. If the user ID is credible, SMF can then execute S802.

In another possible implementation manner, the SMF may obtain the user identity from the authentication response message sent by the DN. That is, the authentication response message sent by the DN to the SMF includes the user identity. The DN may be an AAA server in a data network deployed by a third party, or a common authentication server, which is not limited in this application.

Specifically, for UE authentication, in addition to the authentication process performed by the operator network on the UE during the registration process, the DN can also perform secondary authentication on the user during the PDU session establishment process. If the UE is authenticated by the DN, the DN ends the authentication process by sending an authentication response message to the SMF. The authentication response message can carry the user identity, so that the SMF can obtain the user identity from the authentication response message. After that, the SMF can continue to perform S802.

It should be understood that in addition to the user identification, referring to the prior art, the authentication response message may also carry the DN authorization profile index (Authorization profile index) and authorized session AMBR (Authorized Session-AMBR) parameters, where AMBR is the aggregate maximum bit rate (aggregated maximum bit rate). Among them, DN Authorization profile index is used to index to specific policy rules in the policy data, such as user policy signing rules of a specific level, and Authorized Session-AMBR is used to describe the upper limit of aggregate bandwidth allowed for the session, which corresponds to all The upper limit of bandwidth that can be reached by non-guaranteed bandwidth (Non-GBR, non-Guaranteed Bitrate) services.

Exemplarily, the secondary authentication process may be that a third-party service needs to authenticate whether the user is allowed to access the current service, such as a specific website, a VPN server, or a game server to control user access.

In a possible implementation manner, the SMF may obtain the permanent subscription identifier from the PDU session establishment request message or the PDU session modification request message or the session management request message sent by the AMF. In other words, the PDU session establishment request message or the PDU session modification request message may carry the subscription permanent identification, and in addition, the session management request message sent by the AMF may also carry the subscription permanent identification.

S802: The SMF sends a policy association request message to the PCF. Correspondingly, the PCF receives the policy association request message sent by the SMF.

The SMF received a PDU session establishment request, and the policy association request message sent by the SMF was a policy association establishment request message; if the SMF received a PDU session modification request, the SMF sent a policy association update request.

Wherein, the policy association request message includes the subscription permanent identification and the user identification, and the policy association request message is used to request the charging rules corresponding to the subscription permanent identification and the user identification, or the policy association request message is used to request The charging rule corresponding to the user ID under the contract permanent ID. The contract permanent identification and the user identification will be used as input information for the PCF to execute policy decisions.

It should be understood that if what the PCF receives is a policy association establishment request message, in addition to the above content, referring to the prior art, the policy association establishment request message may also include single network slice selection assistance information (single network slice selection assistance information, S). -NSSAI), data network name (DNN). The content carried in the policy association establishment request message can be used as input information for the PCF to execute policy decisions.

It should be understood that if what the PCF receives is a policy association update request message, in addition to the above content, referring to the prior art, the policy association update request message may also include the quality of service (QoS) parameters requested by the UE. The service flow description information is used by the SMF to request the PCF for the charging rules corresponding to the service flow description information.

S803: The PCF sends a charging rule to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the charging rules sent by the PCF. Wherein, the charging rule includes the charging key value corresponding to the user identifier.

Specifically, after the PCF receives the policy association request message sent by the SMF, it can execute the policy decision according to the user policy subscription information stored in the UDR, the locally stored operator configuration information, and the input information of the policy decision provided by the SMF, and Generate charging rules. The charging rule includes the charging key value corresponding to the user identification. The charging key value corresponding to the user ID can have two meanings: (1) A charging key value generated according to the user ID and the charging key corresponding to the service requested by the PDU session; (2) Assigning the user ID In this sense, when the same service is accessed through different user IDs, the corresponding charging key may be different.

Those skilled in the art can understand that the charging key is used by the CHF to determine the corresponding charging rate based on the key, which is equivalent to the concept of a rating group. The charging key is mainly described in this article.

It should be understood that, in addition to the charging key value corresponding to the user ID, the charging rule may also include the following content:

Charging method: charging method, that is, online or offline charging;

Measurement method: Statistics method, corresponding to statistics based on duration, traffic statistics, or duration + traffic methods, or event-triggered statistics, such as triggering based on UE location area change events, access mode change events, etc.;

Charging address: Charging function address information. This cell can only be carried to SMF in the PDU session policy control information, that is, the charging bills generated in the entire PDU session must be reported to the same CHF. SMF may also obtain the CHF billing address through other means, such as performing network element discovery through NRF and selecting an available CHF.

S804: The SMF executes the charging rule.

After SMF receives the charging rule, it can execute the charging rule or perform charging control according to the charging rule.

In summary, according to the method provided in this application, core networks, such as SMF, PCF, etc., can realize user identity perception, and SMF can implement user identity granular charging according to the charging rules of the user identity granularity.

The following describes possible implementations of S804 in combination with online charging scenarios and offline charging scenarios.

1. In the online charging scenario, the SMF charging rules can include:

a1, SMF sends a charging request message to CHF. Correspondingly, the CHF receives the charging request message sent by the SMF.

Wherein, the charging request message includes the charging key value corresponding to the user ID and the subscription permanent ID. The charging request message is used to request the charging information corresponding to the subscription permanent identifier and the charging key value corresponding to the user identifier. Exemplarily, the charging information includes one or more of an authorized service quota (Granted Service Unit), a reporting threshold (threshold), and triggers (triggers).

Authorized business quota: mainly used to characterize the available quota provided by CHF to SMF. This parameter can be carried to the SMF at the same time as the reporting threshold parameter of the CHF decision. The authorized service quota (Granted Service Unit) can also be called the authorized usage GU (Granted Unit).

Reporting threshold: that is, CHF provided to SMF or SMF provided to UPF to indicate the timing of when UPF triggers usage reporting, that is, UPF judges that the usage statistics reach the reporting threshold and reports usage information to SMF. Generally, the reporting threshold is less than or equal to the authorized service quota.

a2, CHF sends the charging information to SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the charging information.

a3. The SMF sends a packet detection rule (PDR) and a usage reporting rule (URR) to the UPF.

a4. UPF performs usage statistics and sends usage information to SMF under certain conditions.

Specifically, SMF generates a PDR corresponding to the user ID (or corresponding to the charging key value corresponding to the user ID) based on the charging rules received from the PCF, the charging information received from the CHF, and the local configuration information. And URR, and provide PDR and URR to UPF. Among them, PDR mainly includes PDR ID, packet inspection information (quintuple, port number, tunnel information, etc.), URR ID (used to indicate the charging defined in URR corresponding to URR ID corresponding to the service flow that meets packet inspection information) Control) and so on. URR indicates what kind of charging control is adopted for these service flows, such as statistics by time/flow, reporting threshold, available quota, trigger event, etc.

After the UPF receives the PDR and URR, it will match the service flow in the PDU session according to the priority of the received PDR. If the specific service flow matches the flow description information in the current PDR, it will be based on the PDR contained URR ID finds the corresponding URR, and performs usage statistics based on the URR. When the usage statistics reach the reporting threshold (the reporting threshold here is determined by SMF based on the reporting threshold provided by CHF and/or authorized service quota and provided to UPF, it can be less than or equal to the reporting threshold provided by CHF to SMF) or SMF When the requested trigger event occurs, UPF will report the current usage information to SMF. The usage information may include the charging key value corresponding to the user ID, time stamp information, and used unit. Optionally, the usage information may also include trigger event information and other content.

2. In the offline charging scenario, the SMF charging rules can include:

b1, SMF sends an offline charging request message to CHF. Correspondingly, the CHF receives the offline charging request message.

Wherein, the offline charging request message includes the subscription permanent identification and the charging key value corresponding to the user identification. The offline charging request message is used to request a trigger event corresponding to the subscription permanent identification and the charging key value corresponding to the user identification.

b2, CHF sends the trigger event to SMF. Accordingly, SMF receives the trigger event.

b3, SMF sends PDR and URR to UPF.

b4. UPF performs usage statistics and sends usage information to SMF under certain conditions.

Specifically, unlike the online charging scenario, in the offline charging scenario, the SMF is based on the charging rules provided by the PCF, the trigger event provided by the CHF, and the PDR and URR generated by the local configuration. After SMF generates PDR and URR, it provides PDR and URR to UPF. After the UPF receives the PDR and URR, it will match the service flow in the PDU session according to the priority of the received PDR. If the specific service flow matches the flow description information in the current PDR, it will be based on the PDR contained URR ID finds the corresponding URR, and performs usage statistics based on the URR. When the usage statistics reach the reporting threshold (the reporting threshold here is determined by SMF based on the local pre-configured authorized business quota and/or the local pre-configured reporting threshold and provided to the UPF, it can be less than or equal to the local pre-configured reporting threshold of the SMF ) Or when a trigger event requested by SMF occurs, UPF will report the current usage information to SMF. The usage information may include the charging key value corresponding to the user ID, time stamp information, and used unit. Optionally, the usage information may also include trigger event information and other content.

It should be noted that whether it is an online charging scenario or an offline charging scenario, in the case that the user ID is obtained through the PDU session modification request message in S801, the UPF actually counts the establishment or modification triggered by the PDU session modification request message The amount corresponding to one or more QoS flows.

After S804, the method may further include: S805 to S807.

S805, SMF generates a usage report.

S806: The SMF sends the usage report to the CHF.

In the online charging scenario, SMF can count the usage information corresponding to the charging key value corresponding to the user ID reported by the UPF, and the usage corresponding to the charging key value corresponding to the user ID reaches the authorized service quota or reaches the reporting threshold Or when the event corresponding to the trigger event occurs, the SMF will generate a usage report, and the SMF will send the usage report to the CHF. Wherein, the usage report includes the charging key value corresponding to the user ID, the subscription permanent ID, and the usage information generated by the user corresponding to the user ID corresponding to the charging key value, or in other words, the usage amount in the usage report The information is usage information corresponding to the user ID or the charging key value and the contract permanent ID.

In offline charging scenarios, SMF can count the usage information corresponding to the charging key value corresponding to the user ID reported by the UPF, and the usage corresponding to the charging key value corresponding to the user ID reaches the local pre-configured authorized service quota Or when the local pre-configured reporting threshold is reached or the event corresponding to the trigger event occurs, a usage report is generated, and the SMF sends the usage report to the CHF. Wherein, the usage report includes the charging key value corresponding to the user ID, the subscription permanent ID, and usage information generated by the user corresponding to the user ID corresponding to the charging key value.

S807: The CHF generates bill information corresponding to the user ID according to the usage report.

Exemplarily, the action of the CHF to generate the bill information may include sorting according to the usage report reported by the SMF and saving it to the subscription permanent identification or the bill file corresponding to the third-party application, where the bill file contains the user identification , And generate the corresponding billing system based on the bill file. Whether the bill file is saved to the bill file corresponding to the contracted permanent ID or the bill file corresponding to the third-party application depends on the actual billing entity, that is, whether the device or account corresponding to the contracted permanent ID is paid or the third-party application is paid . If the current device pays, the bill file is saved to the bill file corresponding to the contract permanent identification, and if the third-party application pays, the bill file is saved to the bill file corresponding to the third-party application. Those skilled in the art can understand that if the CHF needs to save the bill file to the bill file corresponding to the third-party application, it may be necessary to pre-configure the correspondence between the user ID and the third-party application ID in the CHF. Specifically, the action of CHF sorting the bill file to the corresponding account system may also involve interaction with other charging nodes, such as the CHF reporting the bill file to the billing domain (Billing Domain)/charging gateway ( Charging Gateway) to sort the bills to the corresponding device account or third-party application account.

In summary, according to the method provided in this application, after the SMF obtains the charging key value corresponding to the user ID from the PCF, it can provide the CHF with the usage information corresponding to the charging key value, so that the user ID or the user corresponding to the user ID can be realized The granularity of billing.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic flowchart of a charging method 900 according to an embodiment of the present application. The charging method 900 will be described in detail below in conjunction with the steps.

S901: The SMF receives a PDU session establishment request message or a PDU session modification request message sent by the UE.

Wherein, the PDU session establishment request message is used to establish a session of the device corresponding to the subscription permanent identification. The PDU session modification request message is used to modify the session of the device corresponding to the subscription permanent identifier.

S902: The SMF obtains the user identifier and the charging rule of the PDU session.

The meanings of the contract permanent identification and user identification are as described above, and will not be repeated here.

It should be understood that the service flow corresponding to the PDU session established by the PDU session establishment request message is the service flow under the user identity. The service flow corresponding to the PDU session modified by the PDU session modification request message is the service flow under the user ID.

Optionally, the SMF can obtain the user identity through the three methods described above. For details, refer to the above description, which will not be described in detail here.

In addition, the SMF can request the PCF to provide charging rules for the PDU session by sending a policy association request message to the PCF. After the PCF receives the policy association request message sent by the SMF, it determines the charging rule for the PDU session and sends it to the SMF.

Wherein, the content carried in the policy association request message can refer to the existing technology, for example, it can include parameters such as the permanent sign of the contract, the DN policy index, DNN, and S-NSSAI. The charging rule of the PDU session includes the charging key value corresponding to the service corresponding to the PDU session.

Optionally, the SMF may also carry the user identifier in the policy association request message sent to the PCF. Correspondingly, the charging rule for the PDU session determined by the PCF can be considered as the charging rule corresponding to the user identity. For example, the charging key value included in the charging rule of the PDU session may be the charging key value corresponding to the user identifier.

S903: The SMF executes the charging rules of the PDU session to generate a usage report corresponding to the user ID.

The following describes possible implementations of S903 in combination with online charging scenarios and offline charging scenarios.

1. In the online charging scenario, the SMF charging rules can include:

c1, SMF sends a charging request message to CHF. Correspondingly, the CHF receives the charging request message sent by the SMF.

Wherein, the charging request message includes the user identification. The charging request message is used to request the charging information corresponding to the user identifier. Exemplarily, the charging information includes one or more of an authorized service quota (Granted Service Unit), a reporting threshold (threshold), and triggers (triggers). The authorized service quota (Granted Service Unit) can also be called the authorized usage GU (Granted Unit).

c2, the CHF sends the charging information requested by the SMF to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the charging information.

c3, SMF sends PDR and URR to UPF.

c4, UPF performs usage statistics, and under certain conditions, sends usage information to SMF.

The steps c3 and c4 can be referred to the prior art, which will not be repeated here.

2. In the offline charging scenario, the SMF charging rules can include:

d1, SMF sends an offline charging request message to CHF. Correspondingly, the CHF receives the offline charging request message.

Wherein, the offline charging request message includes the user identification. The offline charging request message is used to request the trigger event corresponding to the user identifier.

d2, CHF sends the trigger event to SMF. Accordingly, SMF receives the trigger event.

d3, SMF sends PDR and URR to UPF.

d4, UPF performs usage statistics, and under certain conditions, sends usage information to SMF.

The steps d3 and d4 can refer to the prior art, and will not be repeated here.

Optionally, in an implementation manner, the URR sent by the SMF to the UPF may also include the user ID, so that in the case that the user ID is obtained from the PDU session modification request message, the UPF can count the triggers of the PDU session modification request message The usage information of the user ID corresponding to the established or modified one or more QoS flows. S904: The SMF sends the usage report to the CHF, and the usage report is used by the CHF to generate bill information corresponding to the user identifier.

S905: The CHF generates bill information corresponding to the user ID according to the usage report.

Wherein, the usage report may include user identification and usage information. Optionally, the usage report may also include a contract permanent identification. It should be understood that the usage information may also include the charging key value corresponding to the service corresponding to the currently established PDU session.

In the online charging scenario, SMF can count the usage information corresponding to the charging key value corresponding to the service corresponding to the current PDU session reported by UPF, and determine in SMF that the usage corresponding to the charging key value reaches the reporting threshold or the authorized service quota is exhausted Or when the event corresponding to the trigger event occurs, a usage report is generated, and the SMF sends the usage report to the CHF.

In offline charging scenarios, SMF can count the usage information corresponding to the charging key value corresponding to the service corresponding to the current PDU session reported by the UPF, and the usage corresponding to the charging key value reaches the locally pre-configured reporting threshold or triggered by the event. When the corresponding event occurs, a usage report is generated, and SMF sends the usage report to CHF.

For the action of CHF to generate bill information, please refer to the above description, which will not be repeated here.

In summary, according to the method provided in this application, the SMF can obtain the user ID corresponding to the current PDU session, and by sending the usage information corresponding to the user ID to the CHF, the CHF can generate the bill information corresponding to the user ID, thereby realizing the user ID Granular billing. The charging method according to the embodiment of the present application is described above, and the device according to the embodiment of the present application will be described below. It should be understood that the technical features described in the method embodiments are also applicable to the following device embodiments.

FIG. 10 shows a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the specific form of the communication device 1000 may be a general-purpose computer device or a chip in a general-purpose computer device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 10, the communication device 1000 includes a transceiver unit 1010 and a processing unit 1020.

Specifically, the communication device 1000 may be any network element involved in this application, and may implement the functions that the network element can implement. It should be understood that the communication apparatus 1000 may be a physical device, or a component of the physical device (for example, an integrated circuit, a chip, etc.), or a functional module in the physical device.

In an implementation manner, the communication device 1000 may be used to implement the function of the session management function network element (such as SMF) in this application. Exemplarily, the processing unit 1010 is configured to obtain a subscription permanent identification and a user identification, and the user corresponding to the user identification accesses the network through a device corresponding to the subscription permanent identification; the transceiving unit 1020 is configured to communicate to the policy control function network Element sends a policy association request message, where the policy association request message includes the subscription permanent identification and the user identification; the transceiver unit 1020 is further configured to receive the subscription permanent identification and the subscription permanent identification sent by the policy control function network element A charging rule corresponding to the user ID, where the charging rule includes a charging key value corresponding to the user ID; the processing unit 1010 is further configured to execute the charging rule.

It should be understood that, in this implementation manner, the device 1000 may correspond to the SMF in the foregoing method embodiment, and the foregoing and other management operations and/or functions of each module in the communication device 1000 are to implement the method 800 shown in FIG. 8 respectively. The corresponding steps in the SMF can also achieve the beneficial effects in the foregoing method embodiments. For brevity, details are not described here.

In another implementation manner, the communication device 1000 may be used to implement the function of the session management function network element (such as SMF) in this application. Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 1020 is configured to receive a protocol data unit PDU session establishment request message or a PDU session modification request message. The PDU session establishment request message is used to establish a PDU session of the device corresponding to the subscription permanent identification. The PDU session The modification request message is used to modify the PDU session of the device corresponding to the subscription permanent identification; the processing unit 1010 is used to obtain the user identification and the charging rules of the PDU session, and the user corresponding to the user identification corresponds to the device through the subscription permanent identification The processing unit 1010 is further configured to execute the charging rules of the PDU session to generate a usage report corresponding to the user identification; the transceiving unit 1020 is also configured to send the charging function network The unit sends the usage report, the usage report includes the user identification, and the usage report is used by the charging function network element to generate call bill information corresponding to the user identification.

It should be understood that, in this implementation manner, the device 1000 may correspond to the SMF in the foregoing method embodiment, and the foregoing and other management operations and/or functions of each module in the communication device 1000 are to implement the method 900 shown in FIG. 9 respectively. The corresponding steps in the SMF can also achieve the beneficial effects in the foregoing method embodiments. For brevity, details are not described here.

It should also be understood that the apparatus 1000 may also be used to implement the functions of the PCF, UPF, SMF, UE and other network elements in the foregoing method embodiments, where the transceiver unit 1020 may be used to implement operations related to receiving and sending, and the processing unit 1010 may It is used to implement operations other than receiving and sending. For details, refer to the description in the foregoing method embodiment, which will not be listed here.

In addition, in this application, the communication device 1000 is presented in the form of a functional module. The "module" here may refer to application-specific integrated circuits ASIC, circuits, processors and memories that execute one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuits, and/or other devices that can provide the above-mentioned functions. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art can imagine that the device 1000 may adopt the form shown in FIG. 7. The processing unit 1010 may be implemented by the processor 701 shown in FIG. 7. Optionally, if the computer device shown in FIG. 7 includes the memory 702, the processing unit 1010 may be implemented by the processor 701 and the memory 702. The transceiver unit 1020 may be implemented by the transceiver 703 shown in FIG. 7. The transceiver 703 includes a receiving function and a sending function. Specifically, the processor is implemented by executing a computer program stored in the memory. Optionally, when the device 1000 is a chip, the function and/or implementation process of the transceiver unit 1020 can also be implemented through pins or circuits. Optionally, the memory may be a storage unit in the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc., and the storage unit may also be a storage unit in the computer device located outside the chip, as shown in FIG. The memory 702, or, may also be a storage unit deployed in other systems or devices, and is not in the computer device. A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraint conditions of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians can use different methods for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

Various aspects or features of this application can be implemented as methods, devices, or products using standard programming and/or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" used in this application encompasses a computer program that can be accessed from any computer-readable device, carrier, or medium. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage devices (for example, hard disks, floppy disks, or tapes, etc.), optical disks (for example, compact discs (CD), digital versatile discs (digital versatile disc, DVD)) Etc.), smart cards and flash memory devices (for example, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), cards, sticks or key drives, etc.). In addition, various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and/or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and/or carrying instructions and/or data.

The present application also provides a computer-readable medium on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a computer, the function of any of the foregoing method embodiments is realized.

This application also provides a computer program product, which, when executed by a computer, realizes the functions of any of the foregoing method embodiments. In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, it can be implemented in the form of a computer program product in whole or in part. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on the computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center. Transmission to another website, computer, server or data center via wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or a data center integrated with one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a high-density digital video disc (digital video disc, DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (for example, a solid state disk, SSD)) etc.

It should be understood that the “embodiment” mentioned throughout the specification means that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic related to the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It should be understood that, in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, rather than corresponding to the embodiments of the present application. The implementation process constitutes any limitation.

It should also be understood that in this application, "when", "if" and "if" all mean that the UE or the base station will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, and it is not a time limit, and the UE is not required Or when the base station is implemented, there must be a judgment action, which does not mean that there are other restrictions.

In addition, the terms "system" and "network" in this article are often used interchangeably in this article. The term "and/or" in this article is only an association relationship describing associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and/or B, which can mean: A alone exists, A and B exist at the same time, exist alone B these three situations.

The term "at least one of" or "at least one of" herein means all or any combination of the listed items, for example, "at least one of A, B and C", It can mean: A alone exists, B alone exists, C exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, B and C exist at the same time, and there are six situations of A, B and C at the same time.

In this application, unless otherwise specified, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "multiple" refers to two or more than two.

It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A, and B can be determined according to A. However, it should also be understood that determining B according to A does not mean that B is determined only according to A, and B can also be determined according to A and/or other information.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraint conditions of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians can use different methods for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and conciseness of description, the specific working process of the above-described system, device, and unit can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device, and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be other divisions in actual implementation, for example, multiple units or components can be combined or It can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not implemented. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.

In addition, the functional units in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

If the function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application essentially or the part that contributes to the existing technology or the part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including Several instructions are used to make a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage media include: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (read-only memory, ROM), random access memory (random access memory, RAM), magnetic disk or optical disk and other media that can store program code .

The above are only specific implementations of this application, but the protection scope of this application is not limited to this. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application. Should be covered within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (33)

1. A charging method, characterized in that it includes:

   The session management function network element obtains the subscription permanent identification and the user identification, and the user corresponding to the user identification accesses the network through the equipment corresponding to the subscription permanent identification;

   Sending, by the session management function network element, a policy association request message to the policy control function network element, where the policy association request message includes the subscription permanent identification and the user identification;

   The session management function network element receives a charging rule corresponding to the contract permanent identifier and the user identifier sent by the policy control function network element, and the charging rule includes a charging key value corresponding to the user identifier ；

   The session management function network element executes the charging rule.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said session management function network element acquiring a user identity comprises:

   The session management function network element receives an authentication response message sent by a data network, and the authentication response message includes the user identifier.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said session management function network element acquiring a user identity comprises:

   The session management function network element receives a session establishment request message sent by a terminal device, where the session establishment request message includes the user identifier; or,

   The session management function network element receives a session modification request message sent by a terminal device, where the session modification request message includes the user identifier.
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the method further comprises:

   The session management function network element generates a usage report, the usage report including the charging key value, the subscription permanent identifier, and usage information, and the usage information is the charging key value and the subscription permanent identification jointly The corresponding usage information;

   The session management function network element sends the usage report to the charging function network element, and the usage report is used by the charging function network element to generate call bill information corresponding to the user identifier.
5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the execution of the charging rule by the session management function network element comprises:

   Sending, by the session management function network element, a charging request message to the charging function network element, the charging request message including the subscription permanent identification and the charging key;

   The session management function network element receives the charging information corresponding to the subscription permanent identification and the charging key value corresponding to the user identification sent by the charging function network element, where the charging information includes authorized service quotas . One or more of the reporting threshold and the trigger event, wherein the usage report is generated according to the charging information.
6. A charging system, characterized in that it includes: a session management function network element and a policy control function network element;

   The session management function network element is used to obtain a subscription permanent identity and a user identity, and the user corresponding to the user identity accesses the network through the device corresponding to the subscription permanent identity; and sends a policy association request message to the policy control function network element , The policy association request message includes the subscription permanent identification and the user identification;

   The policy control function network element is configured to send to the session management function network element a charging rule corresponding to the contract permanent identifier and the user identifier, and the charging rule includes the charging corresponding to the user identifier Key value

   The session management function network element is also used to execute the charging rule.
7. 8. The system according to claim 6, wherein the charging system further comprises a charging function network element;

   And, the session management function network element used to execute the charging rule includes:

   Sending, by the session management function network element, a charging request message to the charging function network element, the charging request message including the subscription permanent identification and the charging key;

   Receive charging information corresponding to the subscription permanent identification and the charging key value corresponding to the user identification sent by the charging function network element, where the charging information includes authorized service quotas, reporting thresholds, and trigger events One or more of.
8. A communication device, characterized by comprising:

   A processing unit, configured to obtain a subscription permanent identification and a user identification, and the user corresponding to the user identification accesses the network through a device corresponding to the subscription permanent identification;

   A transceiver unit, configured to send a policy association request message to a policy control function network element, the policy association request message including the subscription permanent identifier and the user identifier;

   The transceiving unit is further configured to receive a charging rule corresponding to the contract permanent identifier and the user identifier sent by the policy control function network element, where the charging rule includes a charging key corresponding to the user identifier value;

   The processing unit is further configured to execute the charging rule.
9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the processing unit is configured to obtain a user ID, comprising:

   Receiving an authentication response message sent by a data network, where the authentication response message includes the user identifier; or,

   Receiving a session establishment request message sent by a terminal device, where the session establishment request message includes the user identifier; or,

   Receiving a session modification request message sent by a terminal device, where the session modification request message includes the user identifier.
10. The device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the processing unit is further configured to:

    Generating a usage report, the usage report including the charging key, the subscription permanent identifier, and usage information, the usage information being the usage information corresponding to the charging key and the contract permanent identification;

    The transceiver unit is further configured to send the usage report to a charging function network element, where the usage report is used by the charging function network element to generate call bill information corresponding to the user identifier.
11. The device according to claim 10, wherein the processing unit is configured to execute charging rules, comprising:

    Sending a charging request message to the charging function network element, where the charging request message includes the subscription permanent identifier and the charging key;

    Receive charging information corresponding to the subscription permanent identification and the charging key value corresponding to the user identification sent by the charging function network element, where the charging information includes authorized service quotas, reporting thresholds, and trigger events One or more of, wherein the usage report is generated based on the billing information.
12. A charging method, characterized in that it includes:

    The session management function network element receives a session establishment request message or a session modification request message, the session establishment request message is used to establish a session of the device corresponding to the subscription permanent identification, and the session modification request message is used to modify the subscription permanent identification of the device Conversation

    The session management function network element obtains the user ID and the charging rule of the session, and the user corresponding to the user ID accesses the network through the device corresponding to the subscription permanent ID;

    The session management function network element executes the charging rules of the session to generate a usage report corresponding to the user identification;

    The session management function network element sends the usage report to the charging function network element, the usage report includes the user identification, and the usage report is used by the charging function network element to generate a call ticket corresponding to the user identification information.
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said session management function network element acquiring a user identifier comprises:

    The session management function network element receives an authentication response message sent by a data network, where the authentication response message includes the user identifier; or,

    The session management function network element receives a session establishment request message sent by a terminal device, where the session establishment request message includes the user identifier; or,

    The session management function network element receives a session modification request message sent by a terminal device, where the session modification request message includes the user identifier.
14. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the session management function network element acquiring the charging rule of the session comprises:

    The session management function network element sends a policy association request message to the policy control function network element, the policy association request message includes the subscription permanent identifier and the user identifier, and the policy association request message is used to request the user identifier The corresponding charging rules;

    The session management function network element receives the charging rule of the session sent by the policy control function network element, and the charging rule of the session is a charging rule corresponding to the user identifier.
15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the session management function network element executing the charging rules of the session comprises:

    The session management function network element sends a charging request message to the charging function network element, the charging request message includes the user identification, and the charging request message is used to request charging corresponding to the user identification information;

    Receiving, by the session management function network element, the charging information corresponding to the user identifier sent by the charging function network element, where the charging information includes one or more of authorized service quota, reporting threshold, and trigger event, Wherein, the usage report is generated according to the charging information.
16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the session management function network element executing the charging rules of the session comprises:

    Sending, by the session management function network element, a usage report rule to the user plane function network element, where the usage report rule includes the user identifier;

    Receiving usage information corresponding to the user identifier sent by the user plane function network element;

    According to the usage information and the billing information, the usage report is generated.
17. A charging system, characterized in that it includes a session management function network element and a charging function network element;

    The session management function network element is used to receive a session establishment request message or a session modification request message, the session establishment request message is used to establish a session of the device corresponding to the subscription permanent identification, and the session modification request message is used to modify the subscription permanent Identify the session of the corresponding device; obtain the user ID and the charging rules for the session, and the user corresponding to the user ID accesses the network through the device corresponding to the subscription permanent ID; execute the charging rules for the session to Generating a usage report corresponding to the user identification; sending the usage report to a charging function network element;

    The charging function network element is configured to generate call bill information corresponding to the user identifier according to the usage report.
18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the charging system further comprises a policy control function network element for:

    Receive a policy association request message sent by the session management function network element, where the policy association request message includes the subscription permanent identifier and the user identifier, and the policy association request message is used to request charging corresponding to the user identifier rule;

    Send the charging rule of the session to the session management function network element, where the charging rule of the session is a charging rule corresponding to the user identifier.
19. The system according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the system further comprises a user plane function network element for:

    Receiving a usage reporting rule sent by the session management function network element, where the usage reporting rule includes the user identifier;

    Sending usage information corresponding to the user identifier to the session management function network element;

    And, the session management function network element is further configured to generate the usage report according to the usage information and the charging information.
20. A communication device, characterized by comprising:

    The transceiver unit is configured to receive a session establishment request message or a session modification request message, the session establishment request message is used to establish a session of the device corresponding to the subscription permanent identity, and the session modification request message is used to modify the subscription permanent identity of the device Conversation

    A processing unit, configured to obtain a user identity and a charging rule for the session, and the user corresponding to the user identity accesses the network through a device corresponding to the contract permanent identity;

    The processing unit is further configured to execute the charging rules of the session to generate a usage report corresponding to the user identification;

    The transceiving unit is further configured to send the usage report to the charging function network element, the usage report including the user identification, and the usage report is used by the charging function network element to generate the words corresponding to the user identification Single information.
21. The device according to claim 20, wherein the processing unit is configured to obtain a user identification, comprising:

    Receiving an authentication response message sent by a data network, where the authentication response message includes the user identifier; or,

    Receiving a session establishment request message sent by a terminal device, where the session establishment request message includes the user identifier; or,

    Receiving a session modification request message sent by a terminal device, where the session modification request message includes the user identifier.
22. The device according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the processing unit is configured to obtain the charging rule of the session, comprising:

    Sending a policy association request message to the policy control function network element, where the policy association request message includes the subscription permanent identifier and the user identifier;

    Receiving the charging rule of the session sent by the policy control function network element, where the charging rule of the session is a charging rule corresponding to the user identifier.
23. The apparatus according to any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein the processing unit is configured to execute charging rules for the session, comprising:

    Sending a charging request message to the charging function network element, where the charging request message includes the user identification, and the charging request message is used to request charging information corresponding to the user identification;

    Receiving charging information corresponding to the user identifier sent by the charging function network element, where the charging information includes one or more of an authorized service quota, a reporting threshold, and a trigger event, wherein the usage report is Generated based on the charging information.
24. The device according to any one of claims 20 to 23, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

    Sending a usage reporting rule to a user plane function network element, where the usage reporting rule includes the user identifier;

    Receiving usage information corresponding to the user identifier sent by the user plane function network element;

    And, the processing unit is also used for:

    According to the usage information and the billing information, the usage report is generated.
25. A communication device, characterized by comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer execution instructions, and when the communication device is running, the processor executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory, So that the communication device executes the charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
26. A communication device, characterized by comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer execution instructions, and when the communication device is running, the processor executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory, So that the communication device executes the charging method according to any one of claims 12 to 16.
27. A processing device, characterized in that it comprises:

    Memory, used to store computer programs;

    The processor is configured to call and run the computer program from the memory to execute the charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or any one of claims 12 to 16.
28. A processor, characterized by being used to execute the charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or any one of claims 12 to 16.
29. A chip system, characterized in that it includes:

    Memory, used to store computer programs;

    A processor, configured to call and run the computer program from the memory, so that the device installed with the chip system executes any one of claims 1 to 5, or any one of claims 12 to 16 Billing method.
30. A computer-readable storage medium, including a computer program, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute any one of claims 1 to 5, or any one of claims 12 to 16 Fee method.
31. A computer program product, the computer program product includes a computer program, when the computer program runs on a computer, the computer executes any one of claims 1 to 5, or any one of claims 12 to 16 The billing method described.
32. A device for implementing the charging method described in any one of claims 1 to 5.
33. A device for implementing the charging method described in any one of claims 12 to 16.

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