CN107615817B - Communication path switching method, device and system for short-range service - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a method, a device and a system for switching communication paths of near field service. The invention discloses a communication path switching method of near field service, which comprises the following steps: determining that two User Equipment (UE) performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range, wherein the ProSe communication is initiated by a ProSe application on any one of the two UE through a first communication path; respectively sending a communication path switching indication to each UE of the two UEs, wherein the communication path switching indication comprises an identifier of the ProSe application and an application layer identifier of an opposite-end UE which carries out the ProSe communication with the UE receiving the communication path switching indication; and sending a communication path switching request to a Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF) device, wherein the communication path switching request comprises the identifier of the ProSe application and the application layer identifiers of the two UEs. The embodiment of the invention improves the utilization rate of resources and solves the problem of resource waste.

Description

Communication path switching method, device and system for short-range service

technical field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to communication technologies, and in particular, to a method, device, and system for switching communication paths for short-range services.

Background technique

With the wide application of social applications, short-range services are becoming more and more important, including short-range discovery and short-range communication. Among them, short-range discovery can make people's life and work more convenient, and short-range communication can make users Communication is established directly between them through short-range communication technology. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) defines an Enhanced Evolved Packet System (EPS) to provide short-range user equipment (UE) The Proximity Service (ProSe for short) introduces a ProSe Function (ProSe Function) network element on the network side to specifically process the related actions and processes required by ProSe.

In the EPS system architecture defined by 3GPP, a direct communication interface PC5 is defined between the UE and the UE. After the UE finds other UEs in the vicinity, it can establish a direct communication path of the PC5 interface with other UEs through the short-range communication technology, so as to realize the short-range direct communication between the two UEs. In addition to direct communication through the PC5 interface, two close-range UEs can also conduct close-range communication through the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) path. Each UE participating in the communication establishes a ProSe packet data network ( Packet Data Network, PDN for short) connection, realizes the communication between the UE and the ProSe application server, and forwards the data between the two UEs through the ProSe application server. Based on the requirements of 3GPP for ProSe communication, the direct communication path of the PC5 interface should be superior to the EPC path, that is, when the location distance between the two UEs is within the range of short-range communication, the direct communication path of the PC5 interface should be used as much as possible. ProSe communication.

In the prior art, when two UEs can perform ProSe communication through the PC5 interface direct communication path, switching from the EPC path to the PC5 interface direct communication path is initiated by the UEs. For example, when UE A finds that UE B is within the proximity communication range by performing the short-range direct discovery process, UE A initiates a direct communication request to UE B on the PC5 interface, and UE B replies the direct communication response to UE on the PC5 interface A, UE A and UE B respectively generate a packet filter for the direct communication path of the PC5 interface to filter subsequent ProSe communication services to the PC5 interface, so that UE A and UE B can continue ProSe communication through the direct communication path of the PC5 interface.

However, in the process of the communication path switching of the above-mentioned ProSe communication, after the ProSe communication is switched from the EPC path to the PC5 interface direct communication path, the network resources allocated by the network side for the EPC path established by the ProSe communication cannot be repeatedly used by the PC5 interface direct communication path , resulting in a waste of resources.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a communication path switching method, device and system for short-range services, so as to improve the utilization rate of resources and solve the problem of resource waste.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a ProSe communication path switching method, including:

It is determined that the two user equipment UEs performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is initiated by the ProSe application on any one of the two UEs in the first communication path;

Sending a communication path switching instruction to each of the two UEs respectively, where the communication path switching instruction includes the identity of the ProSe application and the opposite end that performs the ProSe communication with the UE that receives the communication path switching instruction An application layer identifier of the UE, so that the two UEs respectively switch the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path;

Send a communication path switching request to the policy and charging rules function PCRF device, the communication path switching request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the two UEs, so that the PCRF device updates the allocation to the Bearer resources of the first communication path.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first communication path is an evolved packet core network EPC path, and the second communication path is a PC5 interface direct communication path.

With reference to the first aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, it is determined that the two UEs performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range before ,Also includes:

Receive a proximity indication sent by a ProSe functional network element, where the proximity indication is sent by the ProSe functional network element after determining that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range, and the proximity indication includes The identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the two UEs;

It is determined that the two UEs performing ProSe communication are within the preset ProSe communication range, including:

It is determined according to the short-range indication that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range.

With reference to the first aspect and any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to second aspects of the first aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the sending a communication path switching indication to the UE ,include:

sending the communication path switching instruction to the ProSe functional network element, so that the ProSe functional network element forwards the communication path switching instruction to the UE; or,

The communication path switching indication is directly sent to the UE through an application layer message.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a ProSe communication path switching method, including:

The user equipment UE receives a communication path switching instruction sent by the ProSe application server when it is determined that the UE and the peer UE that performs ProSe communication with the UE are within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is performed by the UE or the UE. The ProSe application on the opposite end UE is initiated on the first communication path, and the communication path switching indication includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the opposite end UE;

requesting, by the UE, radio resources of the second communication path for performing the ProSe communication from the serving base station according to the communication path switching instruction;

The UE establishes the second communication path with the opposite UE using the radio resource, and switches the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the UE receives a ProSe application server that determines that the UE and the peer UE that performs ProSe communication with the UE are within a preset ProSe communication range The communication path switching instruction sent by the internal time, including:

The UE receives the communication path switching instruction sent by the ProSe application server through the ProSe function network element; or,

The UE receives the communication path switching instruction directly sent by the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

With reference to the second aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes:

The UE receives the bearer modification instruction sent by the packet data network gateway PDN GW, and updates the bearer resources on the first communication path according to the bearer modification instruction.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a ProSe communication path switching method, including:

Receive a communication path switching request sent by the ProSe application server when it is determined that two user equipment UEs performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is performed by the ProSe application on any one of the two UEs. Initiated at the first communication path, the communication path switching request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the two UEs;

Update the policy and charging control PCC policy corresponding to the service flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path according to the communication path switching request;

Sending the updated PCC policy to the packet data network gateway PDN GW, so that the PDN GW updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a ProSe communication path switching method, including:

The first user equipment UE determines that the second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is initiated by the ProSe application on the first UE or the second UE on the first communication path;

The first UE requests, from the serving base station, radio resources for the second communication path of the ProSe communication;

the first UE establishes the second communication path with the second UE using the radio resource, and switches the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path;

The first UE sends a communication path first handover request to the ProSe application server, where the communication path first handover request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the second UE, so that the ProSe application server Send a second communication path switching request to the policy and charging rules function PCRF device, so that the PCRF device updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the sending of the first communication path switching request to the ProSe application server includes:

The first UE sends the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe functional network element, so that the ProSe functional network element forwards the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe application server; or,

The first UE directly sends the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, after switching the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path, the method further includes:

determining, by the first UE, whether to perform the ProSe communication with a third UE on the first communication path;

If it is determined that the ProSe communication is performed with the third UE on the first communication path, the first UE sends a ProSe bearer modification request to the core network device, so as to release the communication path allocated to the first communication path. bearer resources of the second UE;

If it is determined that the ProSe communication is not performed with the third UE on the first communication path, the first UE sends a ProSe packet data network PDN connection deactivation request to the core network device to release the PDN connection allocated to the third UE. All bearer resources of the first communication path.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a ProSe communication path switching method, including:

Receive a first communication path switching request sent by the first user equipment UE when it determines that the second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is performed by the first UE or the second UE The ProSe application on the above is initiated in the first communication path, and the first handover request of the communication path includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the second UE;

Send a second communication path switching request to the policy and charging rule function PCRF device according to the communication path first switching request, where the communication path second switching request includes the identification of the ProSe application, the application layer of the first UE The identifier and the application layer identifier of the second UE, so that the PCRF device can update the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the receiving communication path sent by the first UE when it is determined that the second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range is the first Handover requests, including:

receiving the first switching request of the communication path sent by the first UE through the ProSe function network element; or,

The first switching request of the communication path directly sent by the first UE through an application layer message is received.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a ProSe application server, including:

a determining module, configured to determine that two user equipment UEs performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is initiated by the ProSe application on any one of the two UEs on the first communication path;

A sending module, configured to send a communication path switching instruction to each of the two UEs, respectively, where the communication path switching instruction includes the identity of the ProSe application and the communication path switching instruction with the UE receiving the communication path switching instruction. The application layer identifier of the peer UE of ProSe communication, so that the two UEs switch the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path respectively; send the communication path to the policy and charging rule function PCRF device A handover request, where the communication path handover request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the two UEs, so that the PCRF device updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the first communication path is an evolved packet core network EPC path, and the second communication path is a PC5 interface direct communication path.

With reference to the sixth aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in the second possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, further includes:

A receiving module, configured to receive a short-range indication sent by a ProSe functional network element, where the short-range indication is sent by the ProSe functional network element after determining that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range. The proximity indication includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the two UEs;

The determining module is specifically configured to determine that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range according to the proximity indication.

In conjunction with the sixth aspect and the first to second possible implementations of the sixth aspect, in the third possible implementation of the sixth aspect, the sending module is specifically used to send the ProSe function The network element sends the communication path switching instruction, so that the ProSe functional network element forwards the communication path switching instruction to the UE; or directly sends the communication path switching instruction to the UE through an application layer message.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a UE, including:

A receiving module, configured to receive a communication path switching instruction sent by the ProSe application server when it is determined that the UE and the peer UE performing ProSe communication with the UE are within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is performed by the UE Or the ProSe application on the opposite end UE is initiated on the first communication path, and the communication path switching indication includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the opposite end UE;

a resource requesting module, configured to request, from the serving base station, radio resources for the second communication path used for the ProSe communication according to the communication path switching instruction;

A path switching module, configured to use the radio resource to establish the second communication path with the opposite UE, and switch the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path.

With reference to the seventh aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the receiving module is specifically configured to receive the communication path switching instruction sent by the ProSe application server through the ProSe function network element; or, receive The communication path switching instruction is directly sent by the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

With reference to the seventh aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the receiving module is further configured to receive a bearer modification sent by the packet data network gateway PDN GW indicating that the bearer resources on the first communication path are updated according to the bearer modification instruction.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a PCRF device, including:

A receiving module, configured to receive a communication path switching request sent by the ProSe application server when it is determined that two user equipment UEs performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is performed by any one of the two UEs. The ProSe application on the UE is initiated on the first communication path, and the communication path switching request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the two UEs;

a policy updating module, configured to update a policy and a charging control PCC policy corresponding to the service flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path according to the communication path switching request;

A sending module, configured to send the updated PCC policy to the packet data network gateway PDN GW, so that the PDN GW updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy .

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a UE, including:

a determining module, configured to determine that the second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is initiated by the ProSe application on the first UE or the second UE on the first communication path;

a resource requesting module, configured to request, from the serving base station, radio resources for performing the second communication path of the ProSe communication;

a path switching module, configured to use the radio resource to establish the second communication path with the second UE, and switch the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path;

A sending module, configured to send a communication path first handover request to the ProSe application server, where the communication path first handover request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the second UE, so that the ProSe application server Send a second communication path switching request to the policy and charging rules function PCRF device, so that the PCRF device updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

With reference to the ninth aspect, in the first possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, the sending module is specifically configured to send the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe function network element, so that the ProSe function network element Forwarding the first communication path switching request to the ProSe application server; or directly sending the communication path first switching request to the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

With reference to the ninth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, the determining module is further configured to determine whether to perform the ProSe communication with the third UE on the first communication path;

The sending module is configured to send a ProSe bearer modification request to the core network device when the determining module determines to perform the ProSe communication with the third UE on the first communication path, so as to release the allocation to the third UE. bearer resources of a communication path with the second UE; when the determining module determines that the ProSe communication is not performed with the third UE on the first communication path, sending the ProSe packet data network to the core network device PDN connection deactivation request to release all bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a ProSe application server, including:

A receiving module, configured to receive a communication path first switching request sent by the first user equipment UE when it is determined that the second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is performed by the first UE or The ProSe application on the second UE is initiated on the first communication path, and the first handover request of the communication path includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the second UE;

A sending module, configured to send a second communication path switching request to the policy and charging rule function PCRF device according to the communication path first switching request, where the communication path second switching request includes the identification of the ProSe application, the first An application layer identifier of a UE and an application layer identifier of the second UE, so that the PCRF device updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

With reference to the tenth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the tenth aspect, the receiving module is specifically configured to receive the first switching request of the communication path sent by the first UE through the ProSe function network element; or , receiving the first switching request of the communication path directly sent by the first UE through an application layer message.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a ProSe application server, including:

a processor, configured to determine that two user equipment UEs performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is initiated by a ProSe application on any one of the two UEs on the first communication path;

A transmitter, configured to send a communication path switching instruction to each of the two UEs respectively, where the communication path switching instruction includes the identity of the ProSe application and the communication path switching instruction with the UE receiving the communication path switching instruction. The application layer identifier of the peer UE of ProSe communication, so that the two UEs switch the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path respectively; send the communication path to the policy and charging rule function PCRF device A handover request, where the communication path handover request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the two UEs, so that the PCRF device updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

With reference to the eleventh aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the eleventh aspect, the first communication path is an evolved packet core network EPC path, and the second communication path is a PC5 interface direct communication path.

With reference to the eleventh aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the eleventh aspect, in the second possible implementation manner of the eleventh aspect, it also includes:

A receiver, configured to receive a short-range indication sent by a ProSe functional network element, where the short-range indication is sent by the ProSe functional network element after determining that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range. The proximity indication includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the two UEs;

The processor is specifically configured to determine that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range according to the proximity indication.

With reference to the eleventh aspect and any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to the second aspect of the eleventh aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the eleventh aspect, the transmitter is specifically used for Send the communication path switching instruction to the ProSe functional network element, so that the ProSe functional network element forwards the communication path switching instruction to the UE; or directly send the communication path switching instruction to the UE through an application layer message instruct.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a UE, including:

a receiver, configured to receive a communication path switching instruction sent by the ProSe application server when it is determined that the UE and the peer UE performing ProSe communication with the UE are within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is performed by the UE Or the ProSe application on the opposite end UE is initiated on the first communication path, and the communication path switching indication includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the opposite end UE;

a processor, configured to request, from the serving base station according to the communication path switching instruction, the radio resource of the second communication path for performing the ProSe communication; and using the radio resource to establish the first communication path with the opposite UE two communication paths, and switching the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path.

With reference to the twelfth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the twelfth aspect, the receiver is specifically configured to receive the communication path switching instruction sent by the ProSe application server through the ProSe function network element; or , receiving the communication path switching instruction directly sent by the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

With reference to the twelfth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the twelfth aspect, the receiver is further configured to receive a bearer modification instruction sent by the packet data network gateway PDN GW, and update the bearer modification instruction according to the bearer modification instruction. bearer resources on the first communication path.

In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a PCRF device, including:

A receiver, configured to receive a communication path switching request sent by the ProSe application server when it is determined that two user equipment UEs performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is performed by any one of the two UEs. The ProSe application on the UE is initiated on the first communication path, and the communication path switching request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the two UEs;

a processor, configured to update a policy and a charging control PCC policy corresponding to the service flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path according to the communication path switching request;

a transmitter, configured to send the updated PCC policy to the packet data network gateway PDN GW, so that the PDN GW updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy .

In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a UE, including:

a processor, configured to determine that the second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is initiated by the first UE or the ProSe application on the second UE on the first communication path; Request radio resources for the second communication path of the ProSe communication from the serving base station; establish the second communication path with the second UE using the radio resources, and transfer the ProSe communication from the switching the first communication path to the second communication path;

A transmitter, configured to send a communication path first handover request to the ProSe application server, where the communication path first handover request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the second UE, so that the ProSe application server Send a second communication path switching request to the policy and charging rules function PCRF device, so that the PCRF device updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

With reference to the fourteenth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fourteenth aspect, the transmitter is specifically configured to send the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe function network element, so that the ProSe function The network element forwards the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe application server; or directly sends the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

With reference to the fourteenth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fourteenth aspect, the processor is further configured to determine whether to perform the ProSe communication with the third UE on the first communication path;

The transmitter is configured to, when the processor determines to perform the ProSe communication with the third UE on the first communication path, send a ProSe bearer modification request to the core network device to release the allocation to the third UE. bearer resources with the second UE on a communication path; when the processor determines that the ProSe communication is not performed with the third UE on the first communication path, sending the ProSe packet data network to the core network device PDN connection deactivation request to release all bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

A fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a ProSe application server, including:

A receiver, configured to receive a first communication path switching request sent by the first user equipment UE when it is determined that the second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is performed by the first UE or The ProSe application on the second UE is initiated on the first communication path, and the first handover request of the communication path includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the second UE;

A transmitter, configured to send a second communication path switching request to the policy and charging rule function PCRF device according to the communication path first switching request, where the communication path second switching request includes the identifier of the ProSe application, and the first An application layer identifier of a UE and an application layer identifier of the second UE, so that the PCRF device updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

With reference to the fifteenth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fifteenth aspect, the receiver is specifically configured to receive the first switching request of the communication path sent by the first UE through a ProSe function network element or, receiving the first switching request of the communication path directly sent by the first UE through an application layer message.

In a sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication system, including: a ProSe application server for short-range services, a user equipment UE, a PCRF device with a policy and charging rule function, and a core network device; wherein, the ProSe application server adopts the first The ProSe application server described in any one possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the first to third aspects of the sixth aspect, the tenth aspect, and the first aspect of the tenth aspect; the UE adopts the seventh aspect, the The UE described in any of the possible implementation manners of the first to the second aspect of the seventh aspect, the ninth aspect, and the first to the second aspect of the ninth aspect; the PCRF device adopts the possible implementation of the eighth aspect The PCRF device described in the manner.

In a seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication system, including: a ProSe application server for short-range services, a user equipment UE, a PCRF device with a policy and charging rule function, and a core network device; wherein, the ProSe application server adopts the first The ProSe application server described in any one possible implementation manner of the eleventh aspect, the first to third aspects of the eleventh aspect, the fifteenth aspect, and the first one of the fifteenth aspect; The UE described in any possible implementation manners of the twelfth aspect, the first to the second aspect of the twelfth aspect, the fourteenth aspect, and the first to the second aspect of the fourteenth aspect; the PCRF The device adopts the PCRF device described in the possible implementation manner of the thirteenth aspect.

The method, device, and system for switching a communication path for a short-range service according to the embodiments of the present invention, when it is determined that two UEs performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range, instructing the UE to switch the current first communication path to an inter-UE communication path The second communication path that can communicate directly, and the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path are updated, and the switching of communication paths between UEs is initiated by the network side without the participation of the UE, and is released on the 3GPP network side. The bearer resources allocated for the first communication path not only ensure the continuity of ProSe communication, but also improve the utilization rate of resources and solve the problem of resource waste.

Description of drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the accompanying drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description These are some embodiments of the present invention, and for those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can also be obtained from these drawings without any creative effort.

Figure 1 is a communication system architecture in a non-roaming scenario;

FIG. 2 is a communication system architecture in a non-roaming cross-network scenario;

Fig. 3 is the communication system architecture under the roaming scenario;

4 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a communication path switching method for ProSe of the present invention;

5 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a communication path switching method for ProSe of the present invention;

6 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a communication path switching method for ProSe of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is the flow chart of the fourth embodiment of the communication path switching method of ProSe of the present invention;

8 is a flowchart of a fifth embodiment of a communication path switching method for ProSe of the present invention;

Fig. 9 is the flow chart of the sixth embodiment of the communication path switching method of ProSe of the present invention;

10 is a flowchart of the seventh embodiment of the communication path switching method of ProSe of the present invention;

11 is a flowchart of the eighth embodiment of the communication path switching method of ProSe of the present invention;

12 is a flow chart of the ninth embodiment of the communication path switching method of ProSe of the present invention;

13 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the ProSe application server of the present invention;

14 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the ProSe application server of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a UE of the present invention;

16 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the PCRF device of the present invention;

17 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the UE of the present invention;

18 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the ProSe application server of the present invention;

19 is a schematic structural diagram of the fourth embodiment of the ProSe application server of the present invention;

20 is a schematic structural diagram of a fifth embodiment of the ProSe application server of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a schematic structural diagram of yet another embodiment of a UE of the present invention;

22 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the PCRF device of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a schematic structural diagram of a fourth embodiment of a UE of the present invention;

24 is a schematic structural diagram of the sixth embodiment of the ProSe application server of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a communication system of the present invention.

Detailed ways

In order to make the purposes, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments These are some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The UE mentioned in the embodiments of the present invention may be a Human to Human (Human to Human, H2H for short) UE, a Machine to Machine (Machine to Machine, M2M for short) UE, or other types of UE. The M2M UE may be called a machine type communication device (Machine Type Communications Device, MTC Device for short). For convenience of description, the two UEs performing ProSe communication in the embodiment of the present invention are respectively referred to as UE A and UE B.

The home network and the visited network, the non-roaming state and the roaming state mentioned in the embodiments of the present invention are relative to the UE. The home network of the UE is the network identified by the Public Land Mobile Network (Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN) Identity (ID) included in the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (International Mobile Subscriber Identity, IMSI) of the UE. , if the UE is in its home network, the UE is in a non-roaming state, and if the UE is not in its home network, the UE is in a roaming state. The visited network of the UE is the network visited when the UE is in a roaming state.

The EPC path of ProSe communication mentioned in the embodiment of the present invention refers to: a ProSe application on any one of the two UEs performing ProSe communication initiates ProSe communication, and the two UEs establish a ProSe PDN in the currently registered 3GPP system Connect to realize the communication between the UE and the ProSe application server, and then realize the ProSe communication between the two UEs through the ProSe application server. The PC5 interface direct communication path of ProSe communication mentioned in the embodiment of the present invention refers to: two UEs performing ProSe communication realize direct ProSe communication between the two UEs by establishing a PC5 interface connection, and the communication path does not need to pass through any core network. Device, ProSe functional network element and ProSe application server, the communication path is usually established when the two UEs performing ProSe communication are within the preset ProSe communication range, the direct communication path of the PC5 interface is also called the universal mobile communication of ProSe evolution Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Territorial Radio Access Network (E-UTRA for short) communication path.

The communication path switching method of ProSe of the present invention can be applied to three typical scenarios, and different scenarios correspond to different communication system architectures. FIG. 1 shows the communication system architecture in a non-roaming scenario, and FIG. Communication system architecture, Figure 3 shows the communication system architecture in a roaming scenario.

As shown in FIG. 1 , in a non-roaming scenario, UE A and UE B performing ProSe communication reside in the same home network, which includes E-UTRAN, core network equipment (such as Mobility Management Entity (Mobility Management Entity, referred to as Mobility Management Entity, for short). : MME), Serving Gateway (Serving Gateway, S-GW for short), PDN-GW), ProSe application server, ProSe functional network element, Home Subscriber Server (Home Subscriber Server, referred to as: HSS) and Service Location Protocol (Service Location Protocol) Location Protocol, referred to as: SLP) server. UE A and UE B can communicate directly with the ProSe functional network elements of their home networks through the PC3 interface. It should be noted that the PC3 interface is a peer-to-peer interface between the UE and the ProSe functional network element, and the communication on the PC3 interface is implemented through the user plane of the EPS. The Evolved Node B (Evolved Node B, eNodeB for short) in the EPS is omitted in FIG. 1 , and the same omission is also performed in the following FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 .

As shown in Figure 2, in a non-roaming cross-network scenario, UEs performing ProSe communication reside in their respective home networks, and ProSe-enabled network elements in different networks are called local (Local) ProSe-enabled network elements, such as , the ProSe function network element in PLMN B is the local ProSe function network element for UE A. In this scenario, the UE needs to communicate with the local ProSe functional network element to obtain authorization for ProSe communication. The communication is implemented through the home ProSe functional network element in the home network where the UE is located. For example, UE A first communicates with PLMN A The home ProSe function network element in PLMN A performs direct communication, and then realizes the communication between UE A and the local ProSe function network element in PLMN B through the home ProSe function network element in PLMN A. The communication interface between the ProSe function network element in PLMN A and the ProSe function network element in PLMN B is PC6.

As shown in Figure 3, in the roaming scenario, the UE performing ProSe communication resides in the visited network of the roaming place, and the ProSe function network element in the visited network is called the Visited (Visited) ProSe function network element, for example, UE A roams In PLMN C, the ProSe function network element in PLMN C is the visited ProSe function network element for UE A. UE A needs to communicate with the visited ProSe functional network element in PLMN C to obtain authorization for ProSe communication. The communication is implemented through the home ProSe functional network element in the home network where the UE is located. For example, UE A first communicates with PLMN A The home ProSe function network element in PLMN A performs direct communication, and then the communication between UE A and the visited ProSe function network element in PLMN C is realized through the home ProSe function network element in PLMN A. The communication interface between the home ProSe function network element in PLMN A and the visited ProSe function network element in PLMN C is PC7.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a communication path switching method for ProSe of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4 , the method in this embodiment may include:

Step 101: Determine that the two UEs performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is initiated by the ProSe application on any one of the two UEs in the first communication path;

In this embodiment, the first communication path may be an EPC path, the second communication path may be a PC5 interface direct communication path, and the PC5 interface direct communication path may be Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802 The interface specified in the series of protocols. The execution body of this embodiment may be a ProSe application server in the communication system, which implements management and service functions of the application layer for ProSe communication. Two UEs performing ProSe communication, such as UE A and UE B, when UE A and UE B are not within the preset ProSe communication range, the ProSe communication initiated by the ProSe application on UE A or UE B can only pass through the first ProSe communication. After the ProSe application initiates ProSe communication, UE A and UE B respectively establish ProSe PDN connections with 3GPP core network equipment to implement ProSe communication on the first communication path. The ProSe application here can be an application (Application, APP for short) installed on UE A and UE B, or it can be a function that UE A and UE B have themselves. The ProSe communication between UE A and UE B is It can be initiated through the ProSe application. The preset ProSe communication range may be pre-configured by the network side device, such as an area similar to a cell. When two UEs are in the area at the same time, the conditions for the communication path switching of the present invention are satisfied. In this embodiment, the ProSe application server may determine that the two UEs performing ProSe communication are within the preset ProSe communication range according to the existing location positioning technology or through the ProSe functional network element, and the ProSe functional network element performs discovery based on the EPC network. process to find out whether UE A and UE B are within the preset ProSe communication range.

Step 102: Send a communication path switching instruction to each of the two UEs respectively, where the communication path switching instruction includes the identity of the ProSe application and performing the ProSe communication with the UE receiving the communication path switching instruction The application layer identifier of the opposite end UE, so that the two UEs respectively switch the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path;

After determining that UE A and UE B are within the preset ProSe communication range, the ProSe application server indicates that the two UEs meet the conditions for realizing direct communication through the second communication path, and therefore sends a communication path switch to UE A and UE B respectively. The communication path switching instruction sent to UE A includes the identification of the ProSe application and the application layer identification of UE B, and the communication path switching instruction sent to UE B includes the identification of the ProSe application and the application layer identification of UE A. The application layer identifier of the UE is an identifier assigned to the UE by the ProSe application server, which is used to uniquely identify the UE at the application layer. Both UE A and UE B may switch the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path according to the communication path switching instruction.

Step 103: Send a communication path switching request to the PCRF device, where the communication path switching request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the two UEs, so that the PCRF device is updated and allocated to the first communication The bearer resource of the path.

The ProSe application server can send a communication path switching request to the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) device, so that the PCRF device can update the policy corresponding to the service flow identified by the ProSe application identifier based on the characteristics of ProSe communication And charging control (Policy and ChargingControl, referred to as: PCC) policy (Policy).

In this embodiment, when it is determined that the two UEs performing ProSe communication are within the preset ProSe communication range, the UE is instructed to switch the current first communication path to the second communication path that can directly communicate between UEs, and update the allocation to The bearer resources of the first communication path are implemented by the network side to initiate the switching of the communication paths between UEs without the participation of the UE, and at the same time, the bearer resources allocated for the first communication path on the 3GPP network side are released. At the same time of communication continuity, the utilization rate of resources is improved and the problem of resource waste is solved.

Further, before step 101, the method may further include: receiving a proximity indication sent by a ProSe functional network element, where the proximity indication is when the ProSe functional network element determines that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range. Sent later, the proximity indication includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identities of the two UEs; the specific implementation method of step 101 may be: determining that the two UEs are in within the preset ProSe communication range.

Further, the specific implementation method of the above step 102 may be: sending the communication path switching instruction to the ProSe functional network element, so that the ProSe functional network element forwards the communication path switching instruction to the UE; or, through the application The layer message directly sends the communication path switching indication to the UE.

Specifically, the ProSe application server first sends the communication path switching instruction to the ProSe functional network element, carrying the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identities of UE A and UE B. After receiving the communication path switching instruction, the ProSe functional network element learns that The ProSe communication between UE A and UE B needs to be switched from the first communication path to the second communication path, and then a communication path switching instruction is sent to UE A, carrying the identity of the ProSe application and the identity of the application layer of UE B. It should be noted that , the ProSe function network element sends a communication path switching indication to UE A, and can reuse the existing ProSe signaling messages, such as: Proximity Alert (Proximity Alert) message, and add a new indication information to the message to indicate UE A To switch the ProSe communication path, a new ProSe signaling message may also be defined, which is not limited in the present invention. Optionally, the ProSe application server may also directly send the communication path switching instruction to UE A through an application layer message. Similarly, the ProSe application server may also send the communication path switching instruction to UE B through the above process, which will not be repeated here.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of another embodiment of the communication path switching method of ProSe according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5 , the method of this embodiment may include:

Step 201: The UE receives a communication path switching instruction sent by the ProSe application server when it is determined that the UE and the peer UE that performs ProSe communication with the UE are within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is performed by the UE or the UE. The ProSe application on the opposite end UE is initiated on the first communication path, and the communication path switching indication includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the opposite end UE;

In this embodiment, the first communication path may be an EPC path, and the second communication path may be a PC5 interface direct communication path. The executive body of this embodiment may be one of the two UEs performing ProSe communication in the communication system, for example, UE A. Herein, UE A is used as an example for description. As an embodiment on the UE side, it can also be performed on another UE of the two UEs performing ProSe communication, for example, UE B. This embodiment corresponds to the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , UE A receives the communication path switching instruction sent by the ProSe application server, and the ProSe application server has determined that both UE A and UE B are within the preset ProSe communication range. The communication path switching indication sent to UE A includes the identity of the ProSe application and the identity of the application layer of UE B.

Step 202, the UE requests, according to the communication path switching instruction, a radio resource of a second communication path for performing the ProSe communication from a serving base station;

After receiving the communication path switching instruction, UE A requests radio resources for the second communication path from the serving base station where it resides, where the radio resources include air interface frequency band resources. According to the request of UE A, the serving base station will allocate radio resources required for establishing the second communication path to UE A according to the resource configuration policy.

Step 203: The UE uses the radio resource to establish the second communication path with the UE of the communication peer, and switches the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path .

UE A uses the radio resources of the second communication path allocated by the serving base station to establish a second communication path with UE B. UE A and UE B can directly perform ProSe communication through the second communication path, and they can continue to use the first communication path. In the communication path, the Internet Protocol (Internet Protocol, IP for short) address obtained from the 3GPP network side is used for direct communication on the second communication path, or the IP address negotiation can be performed again, and the new IP address is used for direct communication on the second communication path .

In this embodiment, when it is determined that the two UEs performing ProSe communication are within the preset ProSe communication range, the UE is instructed to switch the current first communication path to the second communication path that can directly communicate between UEs, and update the allocation to The bearer resources of the first communication path are implemented by the network side to initiate the switching of the communication paths between UEs without the participation of the UE, and at the same time, the bearer resources allocated for the first communication path on the 3GPP network side are released. At the same time of communication continuity, the utilization rate of resources is improved and the problem of resource waste is solved.

Further, the specific implementation method of the above-mentioned step 201 may be: receiving the communication path switching instruction sent by the ProSe application server through the ProSe functional network element; or, receiving the ProSe application server directly sent through the application layer message. Communication path switching indication.

Further, the method of this embodiment may further include: receiving a bearer modification instruction sent by the PDN GW, and updating the bearer resources on the first communication path according to the bearer modification instruction, including updating the quality of service (Quality of Service) of the EPS bearer. , referred to as: QoS) parameters and bearer packet filters and other resources to release bearer resources required by the EPC path established for the ProSe communication on the 3GPP network side.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a communication path switching method for ProSe of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6 , the method of this embodiment may include:

Step 301: Receive a communication path switching request sent by the ProSe application server when it is determined that two UEs performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is performed by the ProSe on any UE in the two UEs. The application is initiated on the first communication path, and the communication path switching request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the two UEs;

In this embodiment, the first communication path may be an EPC path, and the second communication path may be a PC5 interface direct communication path. The execution subject of this embodiment may be a PCRF device in a communication system, and this embodiment corresponds to the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 . The PCRF device receives the communication path switching request sent by the ProSe application server.

Step 302, updating the PCC policy corresponding to the service flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path according to the communication path switching request;

The PCRF device updates the PCC policy corresponding to the service flow identified by the identifier of the ProSe application on the first communication path based on the feature of the ProSe communication.

Step 303: Send the updated PCC policy to the PDN GW, so that the PDN GW updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy.

The PCRF device sends the updated PCC policy to the PDN GW by initiating the IP Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session modification process, and the PDN GW initiates the EPS bearer modification process according to the PCC policy, including updating the EPS The QoS parameters of the bearer and resources such as bearer packet filters are used to update the bearer resources allocated for the first communication path on the 3GPP network side.

In this embodiment, when it is determined that the two UEs performing ProSe communication are within the preset ProSe communication range, the UE is instructed to switch the current first communication path to the second communication path that can directly communicate between UEs, and update the allocation to The bearer resources of the first communication path are implemented by the network side to initiate the switching of the communication paths between UEs without the participation of the UE, and at the same time, the bearer resources allocated for the first communication path on the 3GPP network side are released. At the same time of communication continuity, the utilization rate of resources is improved and the problem of resource waste is solved.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the fourth embodiment of the communication path switching method of ProSe of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7 , the method of this embodiment may include:

Step 401, UE A and UE B perform ProSe communication on the EPC path by establishing a ProSe PDN connection with core network equipment, and the ProSe communication is initiated by the ProSe application on UE A or UE B on the EPC path;

UE A and UE B respectively establish ProSe PDN connections with 3GPP core network equipment to implement ProSe communication through the EPC path. Because the current UE A and UE B are not within the preset ProSe communication range, the ProSe communication initiated by the ProSe application can only be implemented through the EPC path. Since ProSe communication is implemented through the EPS user plane defined by 3GPP, UE A and UE B need to initiate a ProSe PDN connection establishment procedure to establish a ProSe PDN connection, and transmit the communication between UE A and UE B through the ProSe PDN connection. Traffic flow of ProSe communication. In the process of establishing a ProSe PDN connection, the PDNGW will allocate corresponding IP addresses to UE A and UE B.

Step 402, the ProSe function network element determines that UE A and UE B are within the preset ProSe communication range by executing the EPC network discovery process;

The ProSe functional network element discovers whether UE A and UE B are within the preset ProSe communication range by executing the EPC network discovery process. This step is in the prior art, and the specific implementation details are not repeated here.

Step 403, the ProSe functional network element sends a proximity indication to the ProSe application server, where the proximity indication includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of UE A and UE B;

The ProSe functional network element sends the proximity indication to the ProSe application server, and can reuse the existing ProSe signaling messages, such as the proximity alert (Proximity Alert) message, and add a new indication information to the message to indicate UE A and UE. B is within the preset ProSe communication range, and a new ProSe signaling message may also be defined, which is not limited in the present invention. It should be noted that the ProSe application server knows in advance which UEs are currently performing ProSe communication.

Step 404, the ProSe application server determines that UE A and UE B are within the preset ProSe communication range according to the proximity indication;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 101, and will not be repeated here.

Step 405a, the ProSe application server sends a communication path switching instruction to UE A through the ProSe functional network element, where the communication path switching instruction includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of UE B;

Step 405b, the ProSe application server directly sends a communication path switching instruction to UE A through an application layer message, where the communication path switching instruction includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of UE B;

Step 405a and step 405b may be one of two alternatives, or both may be executed. If both are executed, the UE side only needs to respond to one of the two.

Step 406, UE A requests the radio resource of the PC5 interface direct communication path for performing the ProSe communication from the serving base station according to the communication path switching instruction;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 202 and will not be repeated here.

Step 407, UE A uses the radio resource to establish the PC5 interface direct communication path with UE B, and switches the ProSe communication from the EPC path to the PC5 interface direct communication path;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 203, and will not be repeated here.

Step 408, the ProSe application server sends a communication path switching request to the PCRF device, where the communication path switching request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identities of UE A and UE B;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 103, and will not be repeated here.

Step 409, the PCRF device updates the PCC policy corresponding to the service flow of the ProSe communication on the EPC path according to the communication path switching request;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 302 and will not be repeated here.

Step 410, the PCRF device sends the updated PCC policy to the PDN GW;

Step 411: The PDN GW modifies the EPS bearer and QoS parameters according to the updated PCC policy, so as to update the bearer resources allocated to the EPC path.

Steps 410 to 411 are similar to the above-mentioned step 303, and are not repeated here.

Steps 405 to 411 also need to be executed on UE B in parallel, which is not shown in the figure. If the ProSe function network element, PCRF device, and PDN GW serving UE B are different from those serving UE A, the ProSe function network element, PCRF device, and PDN GW serving UE B perform similar steps above. In addition, the execution order of steps 405 to 407 and steps 408 to 411 is not specific, and may also be executed in parallel.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a fifth embodiment of a ProSe communication path switching method according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8 , the method in this embodiment may include:

Step 501, UE A and UE B perform ProSe communication on the EPC path by establishing a ProSe PDN connection with core network equipment, and the ProSe communication is initiated by the ProSe application on UE A or UE B on the EPC path;

Step 502, the ProSe application server determines that UE A and UE B are within the preset ProSe communication range according to the location positioning technology;

The position positioning technology may be, for example, a cell-based positioning technology, a global positioning system (Global Position System, GPS for short)-based positioning technology, and the like.

Step 503a, the ProSe application server sends a communication path switching instruction to UE A through the ProSe functional network element, where the communication path switching instruction includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of UE B;

Step 503b, the ProSe application server directly sends a communication path switching instruction to UE A through an application layer message, where the communication path switching instruction includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of UE B;

Step 503a and step 503b may be one of two alternatives, or both may be executed. If both are executed, the UE side only needs to respond to one of the two.

Step 504, UE A requests, from the serving base station according to the communication path switching instruction, the radio resources of the PC5 interface direct communication path used for performing the ProSe communication;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 202 and will not be repeated here.

Step 505, UE A uses the radio resource to establish the PC5 interface direct communication path with UE B, and switches the ProSe communication from the EPC path to the PC5 interface direct communication path;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 203, and will not be repeated here.

Step 506, the ProSe application server sends a communication path switching request to the PCRF device, where the communication path switching request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identities of UE A and UE B;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 103, and will not be repeated here.

Step 507, the PCRF device updates the PCC policy corresponding to the service flow of the ProSe communication on the EPC path according to the communication path switching request;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 302 and will not be repeated here.

Step 508, the PCRF device sends the updated PCC policy to the PDN GW;

Step 509: The PDN GW modifies the EPS bearer and QoS parameters according to the updated PCC policy, so as to update the bearer resources allocated to the EPC path.

Steps 508 to 509 are similar to the above-mentioned step 303, and are not repeated here.

Steps 503 to 509 also need to be executed on UE B in parallel, which is not shown in the figure. If the ProSe function network element, PCRF device, and PDN GW serving UE B are different from those serving UE A, the ProSe function network element, PCRF device, and PDN GW serving UE B perform similar steps above. In addition, the execution order of steps 503 to 505 and steps 506 to 509 is not specific, and may also be executed in parallel.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a sixth embodiment of a communication path switching method for ProSe according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9 , the method in this embodiment may include:

Step 601: The first UE determines that the second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is initiated by the ProSe application on the first UE or the second UE on the first communication path ;

In this embodiment, the first communication path may be an EPC path, and the second communication path may be a PC5 interface direct communication path. The executive body of this embodiment may be one of the two UEs performing ProSe communication in the communication system, for example, UE A. UE A discovers that UE B is within the preset ProSe communication range by performing a direct discovery (Direct Discovery) process, and the direct discovery process is in the prior art, and details are not described here.

Step 602, the first UE requests, from the serving base station, radio resources used for the second communication path of the ProSe communication;

The radio resources include air interface frequency band resources. According to the request of UE A, the serving base station will allocate radio resources required for establishing the second communication path to UE A according to the resource configuration policy.

Step 603: The first UE establishes the second communication path with the second UE using the radio resource, and switches the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 203, and will not be repeated here.

Step 604: The first UE sends a communication path first handover request to the ProSe application server, where the communication path first handover request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the second UE, so that the The ProSe application server sends a second communication path switching request to the policy and charging rule function PCRF device, so that the PCRF device updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

In this embodiment, when one of the two UEs performing ProSe communication determines that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range, it switches the current first communication path to the second communication that can communicate directly between the UEs path, and triggers the ProSe application server to request the PCRF device to initiate bearer resource update by sending the first switching request of the communication path, so that the UE initiates the switching of the communication path between the UEs, and at the same time, the bearer resources allocated for the first communication path on the 3GPP network side are released, While ensuring the continuity of ProSe communication, it improves the utilization of resources and solves the problem of resource waste.

Further, the specific implementation method of the above step 602 may be: sending the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe functional network element, so that the ProSe functional network element forwards the first switching of the communication path to the ProSe application server. or, directly sending the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

Further, after the above step 603, it may further include: determining whether to perform the ProSe communication with the third UE on the first communication path; if it is determined to perform the ProSe communication with the third UE on the first communication path ProSe communication, sending a ProSe bearer modification request to the core network device to release the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path with the second UE; if it is determined that there is no communication with other third parties on the first communication path When the UE performs the ProSe communication, it sends a ProSe packet data network PDN connection deactivation request to the core network device to release all bearer resources allocated to the first communication path. Any one of all other UEs except the two UEs (ie, UE A and UE B) in the ProSe communication.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the seventh embodiment of the communication path switching method of ProSe according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10 , the method of this embodiment may include:

Step 701: Receive a first switching request of a communication path sent by a first UE when it determines that a second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is performed by the first UE or the second UE. The ProSe application on the UE is initiated on the first communication path, and the first handover request of the communication path includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the second UE;

In this embodiment, the first communication path may be an EPC path, and the second communication path may be a PC5 interface direct communication path. The execution body of this embodiment may be a ProSe application server in the communication system. This embodiment corresponds to the method embodiment shown in FIG. 9 . In this embodiment, the first UE determines that the second UE performing ProSe communication is within the preset ProSe communication range, and the first UE initiates the ProSe application server at this time. Communication path first switching request.

Step 702: Send a second communication path switching request to the PCRF device according to the communication path first switching request, where the communication path second switching request includes the identification of the ProSe application, the application layer identification of the first UE and the the application layer identifier of the second UE, so that the PCRF device updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

In this embodiment, when the first UE among the two UEs performing ProSe communication determines that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range, the first UE switches the current first communication path to the second communication that can communicate directly between the UEs path, and triggers the ProSe application server to request the PCRF device to initiate bearer resource update by sending the first switching request of the communication path, so that the UE initiates the switching of the communication path between the UEs, and at the same time, the bearer resources allocated for the first communication path on the 3GPP network side are released, While ensuring the continuity of ProSe communication, it improves the utilization of resources and solves the problem of resource waste.

Further, the specific implementation method of the above step 701 may be: receiving the first switching request of the communication path sent by the first UE through a ProSe function network element; or receiving a request sent directly by the first UE through an application layer message The communication path first switching request.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the eighth embodiment of the ProSe communication path switching method of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11 , the method of this embodiment may include:

Step 801, UE A and UE B perform ProSe communication on the EPC path by establishing a ProSe PDN connection with core network equipment, and the ProSe communication is initiated by the ProSe application on UE A or UE B on the EPC path;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 401 and will not be repeated here.

Step 802, UE A determines that it is within a preset ProSe communication range with UE B;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 601 and will not be repeated here.

Step 803, UE A requests the wireless resources of the PC5 interface direct communication path for carrying out the ProSe communication from the serving base station;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 602, and will not be repeated here.

Step 804, UE A uses the radio resource to establish the PC5 interface direct communication path with UE B, and switches the ProSe communication from the EPC path to the PC5 interface direct communication path;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 603 and will not be repeated here.

Step 805a, UE A sends a communication path first switching request to the ProSe application server through the ProSe functional network element, where the communication path first switching request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of UE B;

Step 805b, UE A directly sends a communication path first handover request to the ProSe application server through an application layer message, where the communication path first handover request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of UE B;

Step 805a and step 805b may be selected from two alternatives, or both may be executed. If both are executed, the ProSe application server only needs to respond to one of the two. After UE-A determines that it is within the preset ProSe communication range with UE B, it decides to initiate a ProSe communication path switching request, that is, requesting the network side to switch the current ProSe communication between UE A and UE B from the EPC path to the PC5 interface direct communication path. UE A may send the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe application server in two ways. UE A can reuse the existing ProSe signaling message, add a new indication information to the message to request the network side to initiate the switching of the ProSe communication path, and can also define a new ProSe signaling message, which is not covered by the present invention. Do limit.

Step 806, the ProSe application server sends the second handover request of the communication path to the PCRF device according to the first handover request of the communication path, and the second handover request of the communication path includes the identification of the ProSe application, the application layer identification of UE A and the UE A B's application layer identifier;

Step 807, the PCRF device updates the PCC policy corresponding to the service flow of the ProSe communication on the EPC path according to the second handover request of the communication path;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 302 and will not be repeated here.

Step 808, the PCRF device sends the updated PCC policy to the PDN GW;

Step 809: The PDN GW modifies the EPS bearer and QoS parameters according to the updated PCC policy, so as to update the bearer resources allocated to the EPC path.

Steps 808 to 809 are similar to the above-mentioned step 303, and are not repeated here.

Steps 803 to 809 also need to be executed on UE B in parallel, which is not shown in the figure. If the ProSe function network element, PCRF device, and PDN GW serving UE B are different from those serving UE A, the ProSe function network element, PCRF device, and PDN GW serving UE B perform similar steps above. In addition, steps 803 to 804 and steps 805 to 809 are executed in no particular order, and may also be executed in parallel.

Fig. 12 is a flow chart of the ninth embodiment of the communication path switching method of ProSe according to the present invention. As shown in Fig. 12 , the method of this embodiment may include:

Step 901, UE A and UE B perform ProSe communication on the EPC path by establishing a ProSe PDN connection with the core network equipment, and the ProSe communication is initiated by the ProSe application on UE A or UE B on the EPC path;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 401 and will not be repeated here.

Step 902, UE A determines that it is within a preset ProSe communication range with UE B;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 601 and will not be repeated here.

Step 903, UE A requests the wireless resources of the PC5 interface direct communication path for carrying out the ProSe communication from the serving base station;

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 602, and will not be repeated here.

Step 904: UE A establishes the PC5 interface direct communication path with UE B using the radio resource, and switches the ProSe communication from the EPC path to the PC5 interface direct communication path.

This step is similar to the above-mentioned step 603 and will not be repeated here.

Step 905, UE A determines whether to perform the ProSe communication with UE C on the EPC path;

Step 906, if UE A determines to perform the ProSe communication with UE C on the EPC path, then sends a ProSe bearer modification request to the core network device to release the bearer resources allocated to the EPC path with UE B;

If UE A is currently performing ProSe communication with UE C through the EPC path, UE A initiates the ProSe bearer modification process, including updating the QoS parameters of the EPS bearer and the resources such as the bearer packet filter, so as to release resources for UE A and UE B on the 3GPP network side. The bearer resource required by the EPC path established by the ProSe communication between them is the bearer resource of the service flow identified by the identifier of the ProSe application.

Step 907: If UE A determines that the ProSe communication is not performed with UE C on the EPC path, it sends a ProSe PDN connection deactivation request to the core network device to release all bearer resources allocated to the EPC path.

If UE A does not currently communicate with UE C through the EPC path for ProSe, that is, UE B is the last UE to communicate with UE A through the EPC path for ProSe, UE A initiates the ProSe PDN connection deactivation procedure. The ProSe PDN connection is the PDN connection established for ProSe communication in s901, and deleting the entire ProSe PDN connection can release the bearer resources allocated by the 3GPP side for the EPC path to the greatest extent.

Steps 906 and 907 are optional steps. Steps 903 to 907 also need to be executed on UE B in parallel, which is not shown in the figure. If the ProSe functional network element, PCRF device, and PDN GW serving UE B are different from those serving UE A, the ProSe functional network element, PCRF device, and PDN GW serving UE B perform similar steps as above.

FIG. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the ProSe application server of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13 , the apparatus of this embodiment may include: a determination module 11 and a sending module 12 , wherein the determination module is used to determine the device that performs ProSe communication. Two user equipment UEs are within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is initiated by a ProSe application on any one of the two UEs in the first communication path;

A sending module, configured to send a communication path switching instruction to each of the two UEs, respectively, where the communication path switching instruction includes the identity of the ProSe application and the communication path switching instruction with the UE receiving the communication path switching instruction. The application layer identifier of the peer UE of ProSe communication, so that the two UEs switch the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path respectively; send the communication path to the policy and charging rule function PCRF device A handover request, where the communication path handover request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the two UEs, so that the PCRF device updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

The apparatus in this embodiment can be used to execute the technical solution of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , and the implementation principle and technical effect thereof are similar, and are not repeated here.

Further, the first communication path is an evolved packet core network EPC path, and the second communication path is a PC5 interface direct communication path.

FIG. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the ProSe application server of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 14 , on the basis of the device structure shown in FIG. 13 , the apparatus of this embodiment may further include: a receiving module 13 , The receiving module 13 is configured to receive a proximity indication sent by a ProSe functional network element, where the proximity indication is sent by the ProSe functional network element after determining that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range, The proximity indication includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the two UEs; the determining module 11 is specifically configured to determine that the two UEs are in the preset according to the proximity indication. within ProSe communication range.

The apparatus in this embodiment can be used to execute the technical solution of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , and the implementation principle and technical effect thereof are similar, and are not repeated here.

Further, the sending module 12 is specifically configured to send the communication path switching instruction to the ProSe functional network element, so that the ProSe functional network element forwards the communication path switching instruction to the UE; or, through the application layer The message directly sends the communication path switching indication to the UE.

FIG. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the UE of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 15 , the apparatus of this embodiment may include: a receiving module 21 , a resource requesting module 22 and a path switching module 23 , wherein the receiving module 21 is used for Receive a communication path switching instruction sent by the ProSe application server when it is determined that the UE and the peer UE performing ProSe communication with the UE are within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is performed by the UE and the peer UE The ProSe application on the UE is initiated on the first communication path, and the communication path switching indication includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the opposite UE; the resource request module 22 is configured to switch according to the communication path indication. Request the radio resource of the second communication path for performing the ProSe communication from the serving base station; the path switching module 23 is configured to use the radio resource to establish the second communication path with the opposite UE, and Switching the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path.

The apparatus of this embodiment can be used to execute the technical solution of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , and the implementation principle and technical effect thereof are similar, and are not repeated here.

Further, the receiving module 21 is specifically configured to receive the communication path switching instruction sent by the ProSe application server through a ProSe functional network element; or, receive the communication directly sent by the ProSe application server through an application layer message. Path switching indication.

Further, the receiving module 21 is further configured to receive a bearer modification instruction sent by the packet data network gateway PDN GW, and update the bearer resources on the first communication path according to the bearer modification instruction.

FIG. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a PCRF device according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 16 , the apparatus of this embodiment may include: a receiving module 31 , a policy updating module 32 and a sending module 33 , wherein the receiving module 31 is used for Receive a communication path switching request sent by the ProSe application server when it is determined that the two user equipment UEs performing ProSe communication are within the preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is applied by the ProSe on the two UEs in the first communication path Initiate, the communication path switching request includes the identification of the ProSe application and the application layer identifications of the two UEs; the policy update module 32 is configured to update all the information on the first communication path according to the communication path switching request. The policy corresponding to the service flow of the ProSe communication and the charging control PCC policy; the sending module 33 is configured to send the updated PCC policy to the packet data network gateway PDN GW, so that the PDN GW can send the updated PCC policy to the PDN GW according to the updated PCC policy. The PCC policy updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

The apparatus of this embodiment can be used to execute the technical solution of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , and its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and details are not repeated here.

FIG. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the UE of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 17 , the apparatus of this embodiment may include: a determination module 41 , a resource request module 42 , a path switching module 43 and a sending module 44 , wherein the determination module 41 Module 41, configured to determine that the second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is initiated by the ProSe application on the first UE and the second UE on the first communication path; The resource request module 42 is used for requesting the wireless resource of the second communication path used for the ProSe communication from the serving base station; the path switching module 43 is used for using the wireless resource to establish all communication with the second UE. the second communication path, and switch the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path; the sending module 44 is configured to send a first communication path switching request to the ProSe application server, the communication path The first handover request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the second UE, so that the ProSe application server sends the second handover request of the communication path to the policy and charging rules function PCRF device, so that the PCRF The device updates bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

The apparatus of this embodiment can be used to implement the technical solution of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 9 , and the implementation principle and technical effect thereof are similar, and are not repeated here.

Further, the sending module 44 is specifically configured to send the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe functional network element, so that the ProSe functional network element forwards the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe application server. or, directly sending the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

Further, the determining module 41 is further configured to determine whether to perform the ProSe communication with the third UE on the first communication path; the sending module 44 is configured to determine whether to perform the ProSe communication with the third UE on the first communication path; Perform the ProSe communication with the third UE on the first communication path, and send a ProSe bearer modification request to the core network device to release the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path with the second UE; The determining module 41 determines that the ProSe communication is not performed with the third UE on the first communication path, and sends a ProSe packet data network PDN connection deactivation request to the core network device to release the first communication. All bearer resources for the path.

FIG. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the ProSe application server of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 18, the apparatus of this embodiment may include: a receiving module 51 and a sending module 52, wherein the receiving module 51 is used to receive the first A first communication path handover request sent by the user equipment UE when it determines that it is within a preset ProSe communication range with a second UE performing ProSe communication, where the ProSe communication is performed by ProSe on the first UE and the second UE The application is initiated on the first communication path, and the first handover request of the communication path includes the identification of the ProSe application and the identification of the application layer of the second UE; the sending module 52 is configured to send the request to the communication path according to the first handover request of the communication path. The policy and charging rule function PCRF device sends a communication path second handover request, where the communication path second handover request includes the identification of the ProSe application, the application layer identification of the first UE and the application layer identification of the second UE identification, so that the PCRF device updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

The apparatus of this embodiment can be used to execute the technical solution of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 10 , and its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and details are not repeated here.

Further, the receiving module 51 is specifically configured to receive the first switching request of the communication path sent by the first UE through the ProSe function network element; or, receive the first UE directly sent through the application layer message. the first switching request of the communication path.

FIG. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of the fourth embodiment of the ProSe application server of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 19 , the device in this embodiment may include: a processor 61 and a transmitter 62, wherein the processor 61 is used to determine the The two user equipment UEs of the ProSe communication are within the preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is initiated by the ProSe application on any of the two UEs on the first communication path; the transmitter 62 is used to send Each of the two UEs respectively sends a communication path switching instruction, where the communication path switching instruction includes an identifier of the ProSe application and a peer UE that performs the ProSe communication with the UE that receives the communication path switching instruction application layer identifier, so that the two UEs switch the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path; send a communication path switching request to the policy and charging rules function PCRF device, the communication path The handover request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the two UEs, so that the PCRF device updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

The device in this embodiment can be used to execute the technical solution of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , and its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and details are not repeated here.

Further, the first communication path is an evolved packet core network EPC path, and the second communication path is a PC5 interface direct communication path.

FIG. 20 is a schematic structural diagram of the fifth embodiment of the ProSe application server of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 20 , the device of this embodiment, based on the device structure shown in FIG. 19 , may further include: a receiver 63 , the receiver 63 is configured to receive the proximity indication sent by the ProSe functional network element, where the proximity indication is sent by the ProSe functional network element after determining that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range , the proximity indication includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identities of the two UEs; the processor 61 is specifically configured to determine, according to the proximity indication, that the two UEs are in the preset within the ProSe communication range.

The device in this embodiment can be used to execute the technical solution of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , and its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and details are not repeated here.

Further, the transmitter 62 is specifically configured to send the communication path switching instruction to the ProSe functional network element, so that the ProSe functional network element forwards the communication path switching instruction to the UE; or, through the application layer The message directly sends the communication path switching indication to the UE.

FIG. 21 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the UE of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 21 , the device in this embodiment may include: a receiver 71 and a processor 72, wherein the receiver 71 is used to receive the ProSe application server in It is determined that the communication path switching instruction sent when the UE and the peer UE performing ProSe communication with the UE are within the preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is performed by the ProSe application on the UE and the peer UE Initiated at the first communication path, the communication path switching indication includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the opposite UE; the processor 72 is configured to request from the serving base station for performing radio resources of the second communication path of the ProSe communication; using the radio resources to establish the second communication path with the peer UE, and switching the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path.

The device in this embodiment can be used to implement the technical solution of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , and its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and details are not repeated here.

Further, the receiver 71 is specifically configured to receive the communication path switching instruction sent by the ProSe application server through a ProSe functional network element; or, receive the communication directly sent by the ProSe application server through an application layer message. Path switching indication.

Further, the receiver 71 is further configured to receive a bearer modification instruction sent by the packet data network gateway PDN GW, and update the bearer resources on the first communication path according to the bearer modification instruction.

FIG. 22 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of a PCRF device according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 22, the device in this embodiment may include: a receiver 81, a processor 82, and a transmitter 83, wherein the receiver 81 is used for Receive a communication path switching request sent by the ProSe application server when it is determined that the two user equipment UEs performing ProSe communication are within the preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is applied by the ProSe on the two UEs in the first communication path Initiate, the communication path switching request includes the identification of the ProSe application and the application layer identifications of the two UEs; the processor 82 is configured to update the first communication path according to the communication path switching request. The policy corresponding to the service flow of the ProSe communication and the charging control PCC policy; the transmitter 83 is configured to send the updated PCC policy to the packet data network gateway PDNGW, so that the PDN GW can The PCC policy updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

The device in this embodiment can be used to execute the technical solution of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , and its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and details are not repeated here.

FIG. 23 is a schematic structural diagram of a fourth embodiment of a UE of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 23, the device in this embodiment may include: a processor 91 and a transmitter 92, wherein the processor 91 is used for determining and performing ProSe The second UE in communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is initiated by the ProSe application on the first UE and the second UE on the first communication path; requesting from the serving base station for performing the radio resources of a second communication path for ProSe communication; establishing the second communication path with the second UE using the radio resources, and switching the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the a second communication path; the transmitter 92 is configured to send a first communication path switching request to the ProSe application server, where the first communication path switching request includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the second UE, to The ProSe application server is made to send a communication path second switching request to the policy and charging rule function PCRF device, so that the PCRF device updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

The device in this embodiment can be used to implement the technical solution of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 9 , and its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and details are not repeated here.

Further, the transmitter 92 is specifically configured to send the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe functional network element, so that the ProSe functional network element forwards the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe application server. or, directly sending the first switching request of the communication path to the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

Further, the processor 91 is further configured to determine whether to perform the ProSe communication with the third UE on the first communication path; the transmitter 92 is configured to perform the ProSe communication when the processor 91 determines Perform the ProSe communication with the third UE on the first communication path, and send a ProSe bearer modification request to the core network device to release the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path with the second UE; The processor 91 determines that the ProSe communication is not performed with the third UE on the first communication path, and sends a ProSe packet data network PDN connection deactivation request to the core network device to release the allocation to the first communication. All bearer resources for the path.

Fig. 24 is a schematic structural diagram of the sixth embodiment of the ProSe application server of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 24, the device in this embodiment may include: a receiver 1001 and a transmitter 1002, wherein the receiver 1001 is used to receive the first A first communication path handover request sent by a user equipment UE when it determines that it is within a preset ProSe communication range with a second UE that performs ProSe communication, the ProSe communication is performed by the first UE and the second UE The ProSe application is initiated on the first communication path, and the first handover request of the communication path includes the identity of the ProSe application and the application layer identity of the second UE; the transmitter 1002 is configured to perform the first handover request according to the communication path Send a communication path second handover request to the policy and charging rules function PCRF device, where the communication path second handover request includes the identity of the ProSe application, the application layer identity of the first UE and the application of the second UE layer identification, so that the PCRF device updates the bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

The device in this embodiment can be used to execute the technical solution of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 10 , and its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and details are not repeated here.

Further, the receiver 1001 is specifically configured to receive the first switching request of the communication path sent by the first UE through a ProSe function network element; or, receive the first UE directly sent through an application layer message. the first switching request of the communication path.

FIG. 25 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a communication system of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 25 , the system of this embodiment includes: a ProSe application server 1101, a UE 1102, a PCRF device 1103, and a core network device 1104; wherein, the ProSe application The server 1101 may adopt the structure of any of the apparatus embodiments shown in FIGS. 13 to 14 and FIGS. 18 to 20 , and correspondingly, may implement the technical solutions of the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 10 , and the implementation principles and technical effects thereof are similar. It will not be repeated here; the UE1102 may adopt the structure of any of the apparatus embodiments shown in FIG. 15 , FIG. 17 , FIG. 21 , and FIG. 23 , and correspondingly, may execute the technical solutions of the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 9 , Its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and will not be repeated here; the PCRF device 1103 may adopt the structure of the apparatus embodiment shown in FIG. 16 or FIG. 22 , and correspondingly, may execute the technical solution of the method embodiment shown in FIG. 6 . , its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and details are not repeated here.

It can be understood that the receiver and the transmitter described in the embodiments of the present invention may be replaced by a transceiver, which transmits various types of information; or may be replaced by one or more communication interfaces, which may be replaced by one or more Communication carries out the transmission of corresponding information.

In the several embodiments provided by the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or Can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored, or not implemented. On the other hand, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The unit described as a separate component may or may not be physically separated, and the component displayed as a unit may or may not be a physical unit, that is, it may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. . Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution in this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically alone, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware, or may be implemented in the form of hardware plus software functional units.

The above-mentioned integrated units implemented in the form of software functional units can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The above-mentioned software functional unit is stored in a storage medium, and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor (processor) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of the present invention. some steps. The aforementioned storage medium includes: 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 codes .

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, only the division of the above functional modules is used for illustration. The internal structure is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. For the specific working process of the apparatus described above, reference may be made to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, but not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: The technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments can still be modified, or some or all of the technical features thereof can be equivalently replaced; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention. scope.

Claims (38)

1. A communication path switching method of ProSe (proximity services), comprising the following steps:

the method comprises the steps that a ProSe application server determines that two User Equipment (UE) performing ProSe communication are in a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is initiated by a ProSe application on any one of the two UE through a first communication path;

the ProSe application server respectively sends a communication path switching instruction to each UE of the two UEs, wherein the communication path switching instruction comprises an identifier of the ProSe application and an application layer identifier of an opposite UE which carries out the ProSe communication with the UE receiving the communication path switching instruction, so that the two UEs respectively switch the ProSe communication from the first communication path to a second communication path;

the ProSe application server sends a communication path switching request to Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) equipment, wherein the communication path switching request comprises the identification of the ProSe application and the application layer identifications of the two UEs, so that the PCRF equipment updates Policy and Charging Control (PCC) policies corresponding to the service flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path according to the communication path switching request; and sending the updated PCC policy to a packet data network gateway (PDN GW) so that the PDN GW updates the bearer resource allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication path is an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) path and the second communication path is a PC5 interface direct communication path.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein before the ProSe application server determines that two UEs in ProSe communication are within the preset ProSe communication range, further comprising:

the ProSe application server receives a close range indication sent by a ProSe functional network element, wherein the close range indication is sent by the ProSe functional network element after the two UEs are determined to be in the preset ProSe communication range, and the close range indication comprises the identification of the ProSe application and the application layer identifications of the two UEs;

the ProSe application server determining that two UEs performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range includes:

and the ProSe application server determines that the two UEs are in the preset ProSe communication range according to the close range indication.

4. The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the ProSe application server sends a communication path switching indication to the UE, comprising:

the ProSe application server sends the communication path switching instruction to a ProSe functional network element so that the ProSe functional network element forwards the communication path switching instruction to the UE; or,

the ProSe application server directly sends the communication path switching indication to the UE through an application layer message.

5. A communication path switching method of ProSe (proximity services), comprising the following steps:

user Equipment (UE) receives a communication path switching indication sent by a ProSe application server when the UE and an opposite terminal UE which performs ProSe communication with the UE are determined to be in a preset ProSe communication range, the ProSe communication is initiated by the UE or a ProSe application on the opposite terminal UE on a first communication path, and the communication path switching indication comprises a ProSe application identifier and an application layer identifier of the opposite terminal UE;

the UE requesting, from a serving base station, radio resources of a second communication path for conducting the ProSe communication according to the communication path switching indication;

the UE establishing the second communication path with the peer UE using the wireless resources and switching the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path;

the method further comprises the following steps:

and the UE receives a bearer modification instruction sent by a packet data network gateway (PDN GW), and updates the bearer resource on the first communication path according to the bearer modification instruction.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the UE receiving a communication path switching indication sent by a ProSe application server when the UE and a peer UE in ProSe communication with the UE are determined to be within a preset ProSe communication range comprises:

the UE receives the communication path switching instruction sent by the ProSe application server through a ProSe functional network element; or,

the UE receives the communication path switching indication directly sent by the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

7. A communication path switching method of ProSe (proximity services), comprising the following steps:

receiving a communication path switching request sent by a ProSe application server when two User Equipment (UE) performing ProSe communication are determined to be in a preset ProSe communication range, wherein the ProSe communication is initiated by a ProSe application on any one of the two UE, and the communication path switching request comprises an identifier of the ProSe application and application layer identifiers of the two UE;

updating a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) policy corresponding to a service flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path according to the communication path switching request;

and sending the updated PCC policy to a packet data network gateway (PDN GW) so that the PDN GW updates the bearer resource allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy.

8. A communication path switching method of ProSe (proximity services), comprising the following steps:

the method comprises the steps that a first User Equipment (UE) determines that a second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, and the ProSe communication is initiated by a ProSe application on the first UE or the second UE through a first communication path;

the first UE requesting, from a serving base station, radio resources for a second communication path for conducting the ProSe communication;

the first UE establishing the second communication path with the second UE using the wireless resources and switching the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path;

the first UE sends a communication path first switching request to a ProSe application server, wherein the communication path first switching request comprises an identification of the ProSe application and an application layer identification of the second UE, so that the ProSe application server sends a communication path second switching request to a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) device, and the PCRF device updates Policy and Charging Control (PCC) policies corresponding to the service flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path according to the communication path switching request; and sending the updated PCC policy to a packet data network gateway (PDN GW) so that the PDN GW updates the bearer resource allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein sending a communication path first switch request to a ProSe application server comprises:

the first UE sends the communication path first switching request to a ProSe function network element so that the ProSe function network element forwards the communication path first switching request to the ProSe application server; or,

the first UE sends the communication path first switch request directly to the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein after the switching the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path, further comprising:

the first UE determining whether to conduct the ProSe communication with a third UE over the first communication path;

if the ProSe communication with the third UE on the first communication path is determined, the first UE sends a ProSe bearer modification request to core network equipment so as to release bearer resources allocated to the first communication path and the second UE;

if it is determined that the ProSe communication is not performed with the third UE on the first communication path, the first UE sends a ProSe packet data network PDN connection deactivation request to a core network device to release all bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

11. A communication path switching method of ProSe (proximity services), comprising the following steps:

receiving a communication path first switching request sent by a first User Equipment (UE) when the first UE determines that the second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, wherein the ProSe communication is initiated by a ProSe application on the first UE or the second UE on a first communication path, and the communication path first switching request comprises an identification of the ProSe application and an application layer identification of the second UE;

sending a communication path second switching request to a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) device according to the communication path first switching request, wherein the communication path second switching request comprises an identifier of the ProSe application, an application layer identifier of the first UE and an application layer identifier of the second UE, so that the PCRF device updates a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) policy corresponding to a service flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path according to the communication path switching request; and sending the updated PCC policy to a packet data network gateway (PDN GW) so that the PDN GW updates the bearer resource allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the receiving the communication path first handover request sent by the first UE when determining that the second UE in ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range comprises:

receiving the first switching request of the communication path sent by the first UE through a ProSe functional network element; or,

receiving the communication path first switching request directly sent by the first UE through an application layer message.

13. A proximity services ProSe application server, characterized in that it comprises:

a determining module, configured to determine that two User Equipments (UEs) performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range, where the ProSe communication is initiated by a ProSe application on any one of the two UEs on a first communication path;

a sending module, configured to send a communication path switching indication to each of the two UEs, where the communication path switching indication includes an identifier of the ProSe application and an application layer identifier of an opposite UE performing ProSe communication with the UE receiving the communication path switching indication, so that the two UEs switch the ProSe communication from the first communication path to a second communication path, respectively; sending a communication path switching request to a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) device, where the communication path switching request includes an identifier of the ProSe application and application layer identifiers of the two UEs, so that the PCRF device updates Policy and Charging Control (PCC) policies corresponding to a service flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path according to the communication path switching request; and sending the updated PCC policy to a packet data network gateway (PDN GW) so that the PDN GW updates the bearer resource allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy.

14. The ProSe application server of claim 13, wherein the first communication path is an evolved packet core, EPC, path and the second communication path is a PC5 interface direct communication path.

15. The ProSe application server of claim 13 or 14, further comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a close proximity indication sent by a ProSe function network element, where the close proximity indication is sent by the ProSe function network element after determining that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range, and the close proximity indication includes an identifier of the ProSe application and application layer identifiers of the two UEs;

the determining module is specifically configured to determine that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range according to the close proximity indication.

16. The ProSe application server of any of claims 13 to 15, wherein the sending module is specifically configured to send the communication path switching indication to a ProSe function network element, so that the ProSe function network element forwards the communication path switching indication to the UE; or, the communication path switching indication is directly sent to the UE through an application layer message.

17. A User Equipment (UE), comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a communication path switching indication sent by a ProSe application server when it is determined that the UE and an opposite UE performing ProSe communication with the UE are within a preset ProSe communication range, where the ProSe communication is initiated by a first communication path of a ProSe application on the UE or the opposite UE, and the communication path switching indication includes an identifier of the ProSe application and an application layer identifier of the opposite UE;

a resource requesting module for requesting, from a serving base station, a wireless resource of a second communication path for performing the ProSe communication according to the communication path switching instruction;

a path switching module for establishing the second communication path with the peer UE using the radio resource and switching the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path;

the receiving module is further configured to receive a bearer modification instruction sent by a packet data network gateway PDN GW, and update the bearer resource on the first communication path according to the bearer modification instruction.

18. The UE according to claim 17, wherein the receiving module is specifically configured to receive the communication path switching indication sent by the ProSe application server through a ProSe function network element; or receiving the communication path switching instruction directly sent by the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

19. A policy and charging rules function, PCRF, device, comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a communication path switching request sent by a ProSe application server when determining that two User Equipments (UEs) performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range, where the ProSe communication is initiated by a ProSe application on any one of the two UEs, and the communication path switching request includes an identifier of the ProSe application and application layer identifiers of the two UEs;

a policy updating module, configured to update, according to the communication path switching request, a policy and charging control PCC policy corresponding to a service flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path;

a sending module, configured to send the updated PCC policy to a packet data network gateway PDN GW, so that the PDN GW updates bearer resources allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy.

20. A User Equipment (UE), comprising:

a determining module, configured to determine that a second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, where the ProSe communication is initiated by a ProSe application on the first UE or the second UE over a first communication path;

a resource requesting module for requesting a wireless resource of a second communication path for the ProSe communication from a serving base station;

a path switching module to establish the second communication path with the second UE using the wireless resources and to switch the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path;

a sending module, configured to send a communication path first switching request to a ProSe application server, where the communication path first switching request includes an identifier of the ProSe application and an application layer identifier of the second UE, so that the ProSe application server sends a communication path second switching request to a PCRF device, and the PCRF device updates, according to the communication path switching request, a policy and charging control PCC policy corresponding to a service flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path; and sending the updated PCC policy to a packet data network gateway (PDN GW) so that the PDN GW updates the bearer resource allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy.

21. The UE of claim 20, wherein the sending module is specifically configured to send the communication path first switching request to a ProSe function network element, so that the ProSe function network element forwards the communication path first switching request to the ProSe application server; or, the communication path first switching request is directly sent to the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

22. The UE of claim 20, wherein the determining module is further configured to determine whether to conduct the ProSe communication with a third UE over the first communication path;

the sending module is configured to send a ProSe bearer modification request to a core network device to release bearer resources allocated to the first communication path and the second UE when the determining module determines that the ProSe communication is performed with the third UE on the first communication path; when the determining module determines that the ProSe communication is not performed with the third UE on the first communication path, sending a ProSe packet data network PDN connection deactivation request to a core network device to release all bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

23. A proximity services ProSe application server, characterized in that it comprises:

a receiving module, configured to receive a first communication path switching request sent by a first user equipment UE when determining that a second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, where the ProSe communication is initiated by a ProSe application on the first UE or the second UE on a first communication path, and the first communication path switching request includes an identifier of the ProSe application and an application layer identifier of the second UE;

a sending module, configured to send a second communication path handover request to a PCRF device according to the first communication path handover request, where the second communication path handover request includes an identifier of the ProSe application, an application layer identifier of the first UE, and an application layer identifier of the second UE, so that the PCRF device updates a policy and charging control PCC policy corresponding to a service flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path according to the communication path handover request; and sending the updated PCC policy to a packet data network gateway (PDN GW) so that the PDN GW updates the bearer resource allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy.

24. The ProSe application server of claim 23, wherein the receiving module is specifically configured to receive the first communication path switching request sent by the first UE through a ProSe function network element; or, receiving the communication path first switching request directly sent by the first UE through an application layer message.

25. A proximity services ProSe application server, characterized in that it comprises:

a processor, configured to determine that two User Equipments (UEs) performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range, where the ProSe communication is initiated by a ProSe application on any one of the two UEs on a first communication path;

a transmitter, configured to send a communication path switching indication to each of the two UEs, where the communication path switching indication includes an identifier of the ProSe application and an application layer identifier of a peer UE performing ProSe communication with the UE receiving the communication path switching indication, so that the two UEs respectively switch the ProSe communication from the first communication path to a second communication path; sending a communication path switching request to a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) device, where the communication path switching request includes an identifier of the ProSe application and application layer identifiers of the two UEs, so that the PCRF device updates Policy and Charging Control (PCC) policies corresponding to a service flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path according to the communication path switching request; and sending the updated PCC policy to a packet data network gateway (PDN GW) so that the PDN GW updates the bearer resource allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy.

26. The ProSe application server of claim 25, wherein the first communication path is an evolved packet core, EPC, path and the second communication path is a PC5 interface direct communication path.

27. The ProSe application server of claim 25 or 26, further comprising:

a receiver, configured to receive a close proximity indication sent by a ProSe function network element, where the close proximity indication is sent by the ProSe function network element after determining that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range, and the close proximity indication includes an identifier of the ProSe application and application layer identifiers of the two UEs;

the processor is specifically configured to determine that the two UEs are within the preset ProSe communication range according to the close proximity indication.

28. The ProSe application server of any of claims 25 to 27, wherein the transmitter is specifically configured to transmit the communication path switching indication to a ProSe function network element, so that the ProSe function network element forwards the communication path switching indication to the UE; or, the communication path switching indication is directly sent to the UE through an application layer message.

29. A User Equipment (UE), comprising:

a receiver, configured to receive a communication path switching indication sent by a ProSe application server when it is determined that the UE and an opposite UE performing ProSe communication with the UE are within a preset ProSe communication range, where the ProSe communication is initiated by a first communication path of a ProSe application on the UE or the opposite UE, and the communication path switching indication includes an identifier of the ProSe application and an application layer identifier of the opposite UE;

a processor configured to request, from a serving base station, a wireless resource of a second communication path for conducting the ProSe communication according to the communication path switching instruction; establishing the second communication path with the peer UE using the wireless resources and switching the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path;

the receiver is further configured to receive a bearer modification instruction sent by a packet data network gateway PDN GW, and update the bearer resource on the first communication path according to the bearer modification instruction.

30. The UE of claim 29, wherein the receiver is specifically configured to receive the communication path switching indication sent by the ProSe application server through a ProSe function network element; or receiving the communication path switching instruction directly sent by the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

31. A policy and charging rules function, PCRF, device, comprising:

a receiver, configured to receive a communication path switching request sent by a ProSe application server when determining that two User Equipments (UEs) performing ProSe communication are within a preset ProSe communication range, where the ProSe communication is initiated by a ProSe application on any one of the two UEs on a first communication path, and the communication path switching request includes an identifier of the ProSe application and application layer identifiers of the two UEs;

a processor, configured to update a policy and charging control, PCC, policy corresponding to a service flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path according to the communication path switching request;

a transmitter, configured to send the updated PCC policy to a packet data network gateway PDN GW, so that the PDN GW updates bearer resources allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy.

32. A User Equipment (UE), comprising:

a processor configured to determine that a second UE in ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, the ProSe communication initiated by a ProSe application on the first UE or the second UE on a first communication path; requesting, from a serving base station, a wireless resource for a second communication path for conducting the ProSe communication; establishing the second communication path with the second UE using the wireless resources and switching the ProSe communication from the first communication path to the second communication path;

a transmitter, configured to send a communication path first switching request to a ProSe application server, where the communication path first switching request includes an identifier of the ProSe application and an application layer identifier of the second UE, so that the ProSe application server sends a communication path second switching request to a policy and charging rules function PCRF device, and the PCRF device updates, according to the communication path switching request, a policy and charging control PCC policy corresponding to a traffic flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path; and sending the updated PCC policy to a packet data network gateway (PDN GW) so that the PDN GW updates the bearer resource allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy.

33. The UE of claim 32, wherein the transmitter is specifically configured to transmit the communication path first switch request to a ProSe function network element, so that the ProSe function network element forwards the communication path first switch request to the ProSe application server; or, the communication path first switching request is directly sent to the ProSe application server through an application layer message.

34. The UE of claim 32, wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether to conduct the ProSe communication with a third UE over the first communication path;

the transmitter, configured to send a ProSe bearer modification request to a core network device to release bearer resources allocated to the first communication path with the second UE when the processor determines that the ProSe communication is performed with the third UE on the first communication path; when the processor determines that the ProSe communication is not performed with the third UE on the first communication path, sending a ProSe packet data network PDN connection deactivation request to a core network device to release all bearer resources allocated to the first communication path.

35. A proximity services ProSe application server, characterized in that it comprises:

a receiver configured to receive a communication path first handover request sent by a first user equipment UE when determining that a second UE performing ProSe communication is within a preset ProSe communication range, the ProSe communication being initiated by a ProSe application on the first UE or the second UE over a first communication path, the communication path first handover request including an identity of the ProSe application and an application layer identity of the second UE;

a transmitter, configured to send a communication path second handover request to a PCRF device according to the communication path first handover request, where the communication path second handover request includes an identifier of the ProSe application, an application layer identifier of the first UE, and an application layer identifier of the second UE, so that the PCRF device updates a policy and charging control PCC policy corresponding to a traffic flow of the ProSe communication on the first communication path according to the communication path handover request; and sending the updated PCC policy to a packet data network gateway (PDN GW) so that the PDN GW updates the bearer resource allocated to the first communication path according to the updated PCC policy.

36. The ProSe application server of claim 35, wherein the receiver is specifically configured to receive the first communication path handover request sent by the first UE via a ProSe function network element; or, receiving the communication path first switching request directly sent by the first UE through an application layer message.

37. A communication system, comprising: the system comprises a proximity service ProSe application server, user equipment UE, policy and charging rules function PCRF equipment and core network equipment; the ProSe application server is the ProSe application server of any one of claims 13 to 16 or claims 23 to 24; the UE adopts the UE of any one of claims 17-18 or claims 20-22; the PCRF device employs the PCRF device of claim 19.

38. A communication system, comprising: the system comprises a proximity service ProSe application server, user equipment UE, policy and charging rules function PCRF equipment and core network equipment; wherein, the ProSe application server adopts the ProSe application server of any one of claims 25 to 28 or claims 35 to 36; the UE adopts the UE of any one of claims 29-30 or claims 32-34; the PCRF device employs the PCRF device of claim 31.

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