WO2018040073A1 - Method, apparatus and system for charging multi-access network - Google Patents

Abstract

A method, apparatus and system for charging a multi-access network, the method being: a base station acquiring policy information of a terminal, the policy information being used to indicate that the terminal is allowed to simultaneously access access networks from at least two access technology types; generating a data feature set of the terminal according to the policy information, the data feature set comprising access technology type information of an access network and data description information of the access network, the data description information comprising at least one of a data amount, a bearing identifier and a flow description; sending the data feature set to a gateway, so that the gateway charges the service flow of the terminal on the basis of the feature set, and thus different access networks may be distinguished from each other in a multi-access network architecture, thereby realizing distinguished charging.

Description

Method, device and system for charging multiple access networks Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a charging method, apparatus, and system for a multiple access network.

Background technique

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (English: the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP) provides a multi-access network architecture. As shown in Figure 1, the user equipment (English: User Equipment, UE for short) After the evolved base station (eNB) accesses the all-IP packet core network (Evolved Packet Core, EPC for short), it establishes a connection from the unlicensed spectrum to the eNB. The architecture of the multiple access network supports three types of multiple access technologies, including LTE-WLAN broadcast level aggregation (English: LTE-WLAN Radio Level Aggregation, LWA for short), and LTE-WLAN broadcast-level aggregated IPSec tunnel (English: LTE) - WLAN Radio Level Integration with IPsec Tunnel (LWIP), and Lens-assisted Access Using LTE (LAA). These three multi-access technologies use eNB as the aggregation point to aggregate the air interface data and non-network of the 3GPP network. Air interface data of 3GPP (Non-3GPP) network.

In the architecture of the multiple access network shown in FIG. 1, the statistics and charging points of the data volume are on the core network side, and the charging rules of the data packets flowing through the authorized spectrum and the unlicensed spectrum are transmitted on the core network side. There are differences, but the convergence point of the two networks is at the eNB, and the data splitting decision point is also at the eNB. The core network side does not perceive whether the air interface data packet is transmitted through the 3GPP network or the non-3GPP network. Therefore, all data packets are whether or not they are The non-3GPP networks that are offloaded to the unlicensed spectrum are counted according to the charging rules of the 3GPP network, and cannot meet the charging requirements of different access networks using different charging rules.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present invention provide a charging method, device, and system for a multiple access network, so as to distinguish different access networks to implement a differentiated charging function.

The first aspect provides a charging method for a multiple access network, including:

The base station acquires policy information of the terminal, where the policy information is used to indicate that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time; and then the base station generates data of the terminal according to the policy information. a feature set, where the data feature set includes access technology type information of the access network and data description information of the access network, where the data description information includes at least one of a data volume, a bearer identifier, and a flow description; The base station transmits the data feature set to the gateway.

In this way, when the base station determines that the terminal is allowed to access the access network of at least two types of access technologies, the data feature set of the terminal is generated and reported to the gateway, so that the gateway distinguishes different access networks based on the data feature set of the terminal to implement differential charging. .

In one possible design, the at least two access technology types include an authorized spectrum and an unlicensed spectrum.

In a possible design, the base station acquires the policy information of the terminal, which can be implemented as follows:

The first implementation manner: the base station acquires the policy information from the home subscription subscriber server HSS in the attaching process of the terminal.

The second implementation manner is: the base station acquires the policy information from the policy and charging rule function unit PCRF in the PDN connection establishment process of the terminal in the packet data network.

A third implementation manner: the base station acquires the policy information from the PCRF in a bearer connection establishment process of the terminal.

In this design, the policy information configuration of the user granularity is implemented, and in the roaming scenario, the home operator can authorize whether the terminal can simultaneously access from the access network of at least two access technology types.

In a possible design, the base station generates a data feature set of the terminal according to the policy information, which can be implemented by the following process:

And if the policy information indicates that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time, generating a data feature set of the terminal.

In a possible design, the generating a data feature set of the terminal may include the following Two situations:

In the first case, the base station periodically collects access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and data description information of the access network, and obtains a data feature set of the terminal.

The second scenario: when the amount of data generated by the terminal exceeds a preset threshold, the base station collects access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and data description information of the access network, to obtain the The data feature set of the terminal.

In a possible design, after the base station acquires the policy information of the terminal, if the base station determines that the terminal accesses from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time, sends a start indication to the gateway. The start indication is used to instruct the gateway to charge the service flow of the terminal according to a charging rule of the multiple access network; after the base station sends the data feature set to the gateway, if the base station determines After the terminal accesses only the access network of the access technology type, the terminal sends a release indication to the gateway, where the release indication is used to indicate that the gateway is based on the access network of the access technology type. The charging rule charges the service flow of the terminal.

The second aspect provides a charging method for a multiple access network, including:

The policy and charging rule function unit PCRF determines that the terminal is allowed to access simultaneously from the access network of at least two access technology types; the PCRF sends a charging rule of the multiple access network to the gateway, so that the gateway according to the The access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network charge the service flow of the terminal. The charging rule of the multiple access network includes charging rules corresponding to the at least two types of access technologies.

The third aspect provides a charging method for a multiple access network, including:

The gateway receives the charging rule of the multiple access network sent by the policy and charging rule function unit PCRF; the gateway receives the data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, where the data feature set includes the access technology type information of the access network and Data description information of the access network, the data description information including at least one of a data volume, a bearer identifier, and a stream description; and then the gateway is based on the data feature set of the terminal and the multi-access network The fee rule is to charge the service flow of the terminal.

In this design, in the scenario where the terminal is in a multiple access network, the gateway can distinguish different access networks to implement differentiated charging, meet the charging requirements of different access networks, and charge more accurately.

In a possible design, before the gateway receives the data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, the gateway receives a start indication sent by the base station, where the start indication is used to indicate that the gateway is based on the multiple connection The charging rule of the network charges the service flow of the terminal; and the gateway calculates the service flow of the terminal based on the data feature set of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network. After the fee is received, the gateway receives the release indication sent by the base station, where the release indication is used to indicate that the gateway is based on a charging rule of an access network of an access technology type currently accessed by the terminal. The service flow of the terminal is charged; the gateway charges the service flow of the terminal based on the charging rule of the access network currently accessed by the terminal.

In a possible design, before the gateway receives the data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, the gateway sends a request message to the base station when the charging trigger event occurs, and the request message is used to acquire the The data feature set of the terminal.

In this design, when the charging trigger event occurs, the gateway actively acquires the data feature set from the base station, so that accurate statistical charging can be realized.

In a possible design, after the gateway charges the service flow of the terminal based on the data feature set of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network, the method further includes:

The gateway receives the data feature set offset information of the terminal sent by the base station; the gateway performs the service to the terminal according to the data feature set offset information and the charging rule of the multiple access network. The flow accounting is corrected, and the data feature set offset information includes a data feature set for describing repeated charging.

In this design, when some data packets are repeatedly charged, the gateway can correct the data packets that are repeatedly charged by the terminal through the data feature set offset information, and implement accurate charging.

In a fourth aspect, a base station is provided, including:

a communication interface, configured to acquire policy information of the terminal, where the policy information is used to indicate that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time;

a processor, configured to generate, according to the policy information, a data feature set of the terminal, where the data feature set includes access technology type information of the access network and data description information of the access network, where the data description The information includes at least one of a data amount, a bearer identifier, and a stream description;

The communication interface is further configured to send the data feature set to a gateway.

In one possible design, the at least two access technology types include an authorized spectrum and an unlicensed spectrum.

In a possible design, the communication interface is specifically used to:

Acquiring the policy information from the home subscription subscriber server HSS in the attaching process of the terminal; or acquiring the policy from the policy and charging rule function unit PCRF in the packet data network PDN connection establishment process of the terminal Information; or, in the bearer connection establishment process of the terminal, the policy information is acquired from the PCRF.

In one possible design, the processor is specifically configured to:

And if the policy information indicates that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time, generating a data feature set of the terminal.

In one possible design, the processor is specifically configured to:

Periodically collecting the access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and the data description information of the access network to obtain a data feature set of the terminal; or, the amount of data generated by the terminal exceeds a preset threshold. And collecting the access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and the data description information of the access network, to obtain a data feature set of the terminal.

In one possible design, the communication interface,

After obtaining the policy information of the terminal, the method is further configured to determine that the terminal accesses from the access network of the at least two access technology types, and sends a start indication to the gateway, where the start indication is used to indicate that the gateway is based on The charging rule of the multiple access network charges the service flow of the terminal;

After the data feature set is sent to the gateway, the terminal is further configured to send the release indication to the gateway after the terminal accesses only the access network of the access technology type, where the release indication is used to indicate The gateway charges the service flow of the terminal based on the charging rule of the access network of the access technology type.

In a fifth aspect, a policy and charging rule function unit PCRF is provided, including:

a processor, configured to determine that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time;

a communication interface, configured to send a charging rule of the multiple access network to the gateway, so that the gateway is configured according to the The access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network charge the service flow of the terminal.

The charging rule of the multiple access network includes charging rules corresponding to the at least two types of access technologies.

In a sixth aspect, a gateway is provided, including:

a communication interface, configured to receive a charging rule of a multiple access network sent by a policy and charging rule function unit PCRF;

The communication interface is further configured to receive a data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, where the data feature set includes access technology type information of the access network and data description information of the access network, where the data description information includes At least one of a data amount, a bearer identifier, and a stream description;

And a processor, configured to perform charging on the service flow of the terminal based on a data feature set of the terminal and a charging rule of the multiple access network.

In one possible design, the communication interface is used to:

Before receiving the data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, receiving a start indication sent by the base station, where the start indication is used to instruct the gateway to perform service flow on the terminal based on a charging rule of the multiple access network. Billing

Receiving, by the processor, the cancellation indication sent by the base station after the charging of the service flow of the terminal, based on the data feature set of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network, the release indication And indicating, by the gateway, charging, according to a charging rule of an access network currently accessed by the terminal, a service flow of the terminal;

The processor is further configured to perform charging on the service flow of the terminal based on a charging rule of an access network currently accessed by the terminal.

In a possible design, the communication interface is further configured to: before receiving the data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, send a request message to the base station when the charging trigger event occurs, where the request message is used. Obtaining a data feature set of the terminal.

In a possible design, the communication interface is configured to calculate, according to a data feature set of the terminal and a charging rule of the multiple access network, the service flow of the terminal Fee After receiving the data feature set offset information of the terminal sent by the base station;

The processor is further configured to: correct, according to the data feature set offset information, the charging rule of the multiple access network, the service flow charging of the terminal, where the data feature set offset information includes A set of data features used to describe recurring billing.

In a seventh aspect, a base station is provided, including:

An acquiring unit, configured to acquire policy information of the terminal, where the policy information is used to indicate that the terminal is allowed to access from an access network of at least two access technology types at the same time;

a processing unit, configured to generate, according to the policy information, a data feature set of the terminal, where the data feature set includes access technology type information of the access network and data description information of the access network, where the data description The information includes at least one of a data amount, a bearer identifier, and a stream description;

And a sending unit, configured to send the data feature set to the gateway.

In one possible design, the at least two access technology types include an authorized spectrum and an unlicensed spectrum.

In a possible design, the obtaining unit is specifically configured to:

Acquiring the policy information from the home subscription subscriber server HSS in the attaching process of the terminal; or acquiring the policy from the policy and charging rule function unit PCRF in the packet data network PDN connection establishment process of the terminal Information; or, in the bearer connection establishment process of the terminal, the policy information is acquired from the PCRF.

In a possible design, the processing unit is specifically configured to:

And if the policy information indicates that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time, generating a data feature set of the terminal.

In a possible design, the processing unit is specifically configured to:

Periodically collecting the access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and the data description information of the access network to obtain a data feature set of the terminal; or, the amount of data generated by the terminal exceeds a preset threshold. And collecting the access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and the data description information of the access network, to obtain a data feature set of the terminal.

In a possible design, the sending unit acquires a policy of the terminal at the acquiring unit After the information is further used to determine that the terminal accesses from the access network of the at least two access technology types, and sends a start indication to the gateway, where the start indication is used to indicate that the gateway is based on multiple access networks. The charging rule charges the service flow of the terminal;

After the sending of the data feature set to the gateway, the sending unit is further configured to: after the terminal accesses the access network of only one access technology type, send a release indication to the gateway, where the release indication is sent. And indicating, by the gateway, charging, according to a charging rule of an access network of the one access technology type, a service flow of the terminal.

In an eighth aspect, a policy and charging rule function unit PCRF is provided, including:

a processing unit, configured to determine that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time;

a sending unit, configured to send, to the gateway, a charging rule of the multiple access network, so that the gateway is configured according to the access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network. The service flow of the terminal is charged.

The charging rule of the multiple access network includes charging rules corresponding to the at least two types of access technologies.

In a ninth aspect, a gateway is provided, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a charging rule of a multiple access network sent by a policy and charging rule function unit PCRF;

The receiving unit is further configured to receive a data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, where the data feature set includes access technology type information of the access network and data description information of the access network, where the data description information includes At least one of a data amount, a bearer identifier, and a stream description;

The processing unit is configured to perform charging on the service flow of the terminal based on the data feature set of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network.

In a possible design, the receiving unit receives a start indication sent by the base station before receiving a data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, where the start indication is used to indicate that the gateway is based on the multiple access The charging rule of the network charges the service flow of the terminal;

The receiving unit is based on the data feature set of the terminal and the multi-connection in the processing unit The charging rule of the network, after charging the service flow of the terminal, receiving a release indication sent by the base station, where the release indication is used to indicate that the gateway is based on an access technology currently accessed by the terminal The charging rule of the access network of the type charges the service flow of the terminal;

The processing unit is further configured to perform charging on the service flow of the terminal based on a charging rule of an access network currently accessed by the terminal.

In a possible design, the device further includes a sending unit, configured to send a request message to the base station when the charging trigger event occurs before the receiving unit receives the data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, The request message is used to acquire a data feature set of the terminal.

In a possible design, the receiving unit, after the processing unit charges the service flow of the terminal, based on the data feature set of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network, Receiving data feature set offset information of the terminal sent by the base station;

The processing unit is further configured to: correct, according to the data feature set offset information, the charging rule of the multiple access network, the service flow charging of the terminal, where the data feature set offset information includes A set of data features used to describe recurring billing.

A tenth aspect, a charging system of a multiple access network, comprising the base station according to the third aspect or the seventh aspect, the PCRF, the fifth aspect, or the seventh aspect, Gateway.

In the charging scheme of the multiple access network in the embodiment of the present invention, when the terminal allows access to the access network of at least two types of access technologies, the base station generates and sends a data feature set generated by the terminal in different access networks. To the gateway, the gateway distinguishes different access networks based on the data feature set, and implements differentiated charging to meet the charging requirements of different access networks, and avoids the access network based on the single access technology type in the prior art. Fees, resulting in inaccurate billing issues.

DRAWINGS

1 is an architectural diagram of a multiple access network;

2 is an architecture diagram of an EPS network system;

3 is a flowchart of a charging method of a multiple access network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart of a charging method of a multiple access network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a charging method of a multiple access network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a flowchart of a charging method of a multiple access network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a structural diagram of a charging apparatus of a multiple access network according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 8 is a structural diagram of a charging device of a multiple access network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

9 is a structural diagram of a charging apparatus of a multiple access network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

10 is a structural diagram of a charging device of a multiple access network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

11 is a structural diagram of a charging apparatus of a multiple access network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a structural diagram of a charging device of a multiple access network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is obvious that the described embodiments are a part of the embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts are within the scope of the present invention.

It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present invention, a plurality refers to two or more.

And/or, describing the association relationship of the associated object, indicating that there may be three relationships, for example, A and/or B, which may indicate that there are three cases where A exists separately, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists separately. The character "/" generally indicates that the contextual object is an "or" relationship.

In addition, it should be understood that in the description of the present application, the terms "first", "second" and the like are used only to distinguish the purpose of description, and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor as an indication. Or suggest the order.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present invention, a terminal (Terminal) may be referred to as a user equipment (English: User Equipment, abbreviated as: UE), a mobile station (English: Mobile Station, abbreviated as: MS), or a mobile terminal (Mobile Terminal). Etc., the terminal can go through the wireless access network (English: Radio The Access Network (RAN) is in communication with one or more core network devices. For example, the terminal may be a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone) or a computer with a mobile terminal, etc., for example, the terminal may also be portable. Pocket, handheld, computer built-in or in-vehicle mobile devices that exchange voice and/or data with a wireless access network.

It should also be understood that the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present invention can be applied to various communication systems, for example, Global System of Mobile communication (English: Global System of Mobile communication, GSM, for example), code division multiple access (English: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access Wireless (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (English: General Packet Radio Service, GPRS for short) Long Term Evolution (English: Long Term Evolution, LTE for short), Evolved Packet System (EPS), and future evolving wireless communication systems such as 4.5G or 5G communication systems.

Figure 2 shows the architecture of the existing EPS network system. The EPS network system includes: a UE, an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (English: Evolved universal terrestrial radio access network, referred to as EUTRAN), a mobility management entity (English: Mobility Management Entity, MME for short), and a service gateway ( English: Serving Gateway, referred to as: S-GW), Packet Data Network Gateway (English: Packet Data Network Gateway, P-GW for short), Serving GPRS Support Node (English: Serving GPRS Support Node, SGSN for short), attribution signing User Server (English: Home Subscriber Server, HSS for short), Policy and Charging Rules Function (English: Policy and Charging Rules Function, PCRF) and Carrier Internet Protocol (English: Internet Protocol, IP for short) (Operator's IP Services).

Evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN): A network composed of multiple Evolved Node Bs (eNBs) to implement wireless physical layer functions. , resource scheduling and radio resource management, wireless access control and mobility management functions. The eNB is connected to the serving gateway (English: Serving Gateway, S-GW for short) through the user plane interface S1-U for transmitting user data; and through the control plane interface S1-MME and the mobility management entity (English: Mobility Management Entity, Abbreviation: The MME is connected, and the S1-AP protocol is used to implement functions such as radio access bearer control.

MME: Mainly responsible for all control plane functions of the user, that is, session management, including NAS signaling and security, tracking area management, P-GW and S-GW selection, etc., providing roaming, tracking, security, etc., which corresponds to the current The control plane portion of the SGSN within the UMTS system.

S-GW: It is mainly responsible for data transmission, forwarding, and routing handover of the UE, and is used as a local mobility anchor point when the UE switches between eNBs. Among them, for each UE, only one S-GW serves it at a time.

P-GW: As an anchor point for packet data network (English: Packet Data Network Gateway, PDN for short), it is responsible for user address allocation, policy control and enforcement of charging rules, and lawful interception related functions.

HSS: is a database for storing user subscription information. The main functions of the device are storage user subscription information, user authentication, and location information management.

PCRF: used for quality of service (English: Quality of Service, QoS for short) control, gating and charging control.

SGSN: Mainly completes the functions of routing and forwarding, mobility management, session management, logical link management, authentication and encryption, bill generation and output of packet data packets.

The user plane tunnel between the access point eNB and the Serving GW, the Serving GW and the PDN GW is called a bearer, each bearer has a specific QoS parameter, and the data stream with the same QoS requirement is transmitted on the same bearer.

The application scenario in the embodiment of the present invention is to apply the three multi-access features of LWA, LWIP, and LAA to the EPS system shown in FIG. 2, and the specific architecture can be seen in FIG. The eNB is used as a convergence point to aggregate the air interface data of the 3GPP network and the air interface data of the Non-3GPP network. Whether all the data packets are offloaded to the Non-3GPP network is counted according to the charging rules of the 3GPP network, and the user is charged. The rates of using the 3GPP network and the Non-3GPP network are different, and the charging requirements of different multiple access networks cannot be met.

Based on the multiple access network system shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 3, an embodiment of the present invention provides a charging method for a multiple access network, where the method is performed by a PCRF, and the gateway refers to the gateway in the embodiment of the present invention. of It is a PGW/SGW, and the specific processes include:

Step 30: The PCRF determines that the terminal is allowed to access simultaneously from the access network of at least two access technology types.

Step 31: The PCRF sends a charging rule of the multiple access network to the gateway, so that the gateway compares the access technology type information of the access network of the terminal with the charging rule of the multiple access network. The service flow of the terminal is charged.

The charging rule of the multiple access network includes charging rules corresponding to at least two types of access technologies.

For example, if the at least two types of access technologies include the licensed spectrum and the unlicensed spectrum, the charging rule of the multiple access network includes the charging rule corresponding to the licensed spectrum and the charging rule corresponding to the unlicensed spectrum.

Specifically, the PCRF sends the charging rule of the multiple access network to the PGW/SGW to the gateway in the PDN connection establishment process or the bearer establishment process.

In this way, the PCRF determines that the terminal is allowed to access the access network from the access network of at least two access technologies, and sends the charging rule of the multiple access network to the gateway, so that the gateway uses the corresponding charging rule to implement different access networks. The difference between billing.

Based on the multiple access network system shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 4, an embodiment of the present invention provides a charging method for a multiple access network, where the method is performed by a base station, and the specific process includes:

Step 40: The base station acquires policy information of the terminal, where the policy information is used to indicate that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time.

Specifically, the at least two access technology types include a licensed spectrum and an unlicensed spectrum, wherein the 3GPP network uses the licensed spectrum, and the Non-3GPP network uses the unlicensed frequency.

Further, the base station may obtain the policy information of the terminal in any of the following manners, including:

The first mode: the base station acquires the policy information from the HSS in the attaching process of the terminal.

The second mode: the base station is in the packet data network of the terminal (English: Packet Data Network, abbreviated as: PDN) In the connection establishment process, the policy information is obtained from the PCRF.

The third mode: the base station acquires the policy information from the PCRF in the bearer connection establishment process of the terminal.

It should be noted that the policy information of the multiple access feature is stored in the HSS and the User Profile Memory (English: Subscription Profile Repository, SPR for short), and the SPR includes information related to all the contracted users or subscriptions, and the contract provided by the SPR. The information includes: the services allowed by the contracted user; the priority of each allowed service; the QoS information allowed by the contracted user; the charging related information of the subscribed user service; the type of the subscribed user. SPR may be associated with multiple databases distributed across the carrier's network. SPR and PCRF interact through the Sp reference point. Moreover, both the HSS and the PCRF can obtain the user's subscription data and the terminal's policy information from the SPR.

In the prior art, the policy information of the terminal needs to be configured on each base station, and the policy information configuration of the user granularity cannot be implemented. Moreover, in the roaming scenario, the home operator cannot authorize the base station in the visited location to allow the terminal to connect from at least two types. The access network of the technology type is simultaneously accessed. In the embodiment of the present invention, the policy information of the terminal is configured in the HSS or the SPR, and the policy information of the user granularity is configured, and in the roaming scenario, the home operator can connect the terminal to at least two types of access technologies. Access to the network at the same time access for authorization.

Step 41: The base station generates a data feature set of the terminal according to the policy information, where the data feature set includes access technology type information of the access network and data description information of the access network, where the data The description information includes at least one of a data amount, a bearer identifier, and a stream description.

Specifically, when the base station generates the data feature set of the terminal according to the policy information, the following situations are included:

The first case: if the policy information indicates that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time, the data feature set of the terminal is generated.

The second case: if the policy information indicates that the terminal is prohibited from accessing from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time, the data feature set of the terminal is not generated.

Specifically, when the base station generates the data feature set of the terminal, the following two scenarios are included:

The first case: the base station periodically counts the access technology type information of the access network of the terminal Information and information of the access network are obtained, and a data feature set of the terminal is obtained.

The second scenario: when the amount of data generated by the terminal exceeds a preset threshold, the base station collects access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and data description information of the access network, to obtain the The data feature set of the terminal.

Step 42: The base station sends the data feature set to a gateway.

In this way, when the base station determines that the terminal is allowed to access the access network of the at least two types of access technologies, the data feature set of the terminal is generated and reported to the gateway for the access network of different access technology types, so that the gateway is based on the data of the terminal. The feature set distinguishes different access networks to implement differentiated charging.

Based on the multiple access network system shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 5, an embodiment of the present invention provides a charging method for a multiple access network, where the method is performed by a gateway, and the specific process includes:

Step 50: The gateway receives the charging rule of the multiple access network sent by the PCRF.

Step 51: The gateway receives a data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, where the data feature set includes access technology type information of the access network and data description information of the access network, where the data description information includes data volume. At least one of a bearer identifier and a stream description.

Step 52: The gateway charges the service flow of the terminal based on the data feature set of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network.

Specifically, the charging rule of the access network of the access technology type is obtained from the charging rule of the multiple access network according to any access technology type information in the data feature set, and the access is used. The charging rule of the access network of the technology type performs charging for the service flow corresponding to the access technology type. For example, the data feature set of the terminal is:

Bearer 1+3GPP RAT: 3MB, Bearer1+Non-3GPP RAT: 5MB.

At this time, the meaning of the data feature set is: the bearer identifier is 1, the data volume of 3 MB is generated under the 3GPP network, the bearer identifier is 1, and the data volume of 5 MB is generated under the Non-3GPP network.

For the charging of the service flow of the terminal, the gateway obtains the charging rule of the 3GPP network corresponding to the 3GPP corresponding to the 3GPP network, and uses the charging rule for the data feature set in the above example and the charging rule of the multiple access network. Obtaining a bill corresponding to a 3GPP network with a bearer identifier of 1 and a data volume of 3 MB; and obtaining a charging rule of a Non-3GPP network with an access technology type of Non-3GPP, using the charging The rule obtains a bill corresponding to the Non-3GPP network with a bearer identifier of 1 and a data volume of 5 MB.

For another example, the data feature set of the terminal is:

IP quintuple 1, 3GPP RAT: 4MB, Non-3GPP RAT: 6MB.

At this time, the meaning of the data feature set is: the traffic flow corresponding to the IP quintuple 1 generates 3 MB of data volume under the 3GPP network, and generates 5 MB of data volume under the Non-3GPP network. For the data feature set in the example and the charging rule of the multiple access network, the gateway obtains the traffic flow corresponding to the IP quintuple 1 in the 3GPP corresponding to the 3GPP corresponding to the service flow of the terminal. The charging rule of the network, using the charging rule to obtain the CDR corresponding to the traffic of the IP quintuple 1 corresponding to the data volume of 4 MB in the 3GPP network; and obtaining the Non-3GPP network corresponding to the access technology type of Non-3GPP The charging rule is obtained by using the charging rule to obtain a bill corresponding to the traffic flow corresponding to the IP quintuple 1 of the data volume of 6 MB on the Non-3GPP network.

It should be noted that, since the gateway generally implements charging of the service flow according to the rate of the data volume, for example, the rate corresponding to the 3GPP network is 0.3 yuan/M. Therefore, in general, the data feature set includes at least the access network. The access technology type information and the amount of data corresponding to the access network, so that the gateway implements the charging function. Optionally, when the gateway implements the charging of the service flow according to the access time of the multiple access network, for example, The charging standard corresponding to the 3GPP network is 0.3 yuan/hour. At this time, the data feature set may not include the data volume, and the gateway needs to determine the usage time of each access network according to the receiving time of the data feature set to implement the charging of the service flow.

In this scenario, after the terminal is in the multiple access network, the gateway can distinguish the different access networks to implement differentiated charging after receiving the data feature set of the terminal, and meet the charging requirements of different access networks. accurate.

Based on the multiple access network system shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 6, an embodiment of the present invention provides a charging method for a multiple access network, and it should be noted that FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5 of the present invention. The charging method between the embodiments of FIG. 6 can be used for reference. The specific processes include:

As shown in FIG. 6, the method includes:

Step 60: The PCRF determines that the terminal is allowed to access simultaneously from the access network of at least two access technology types.

Specifically, the PCRF obtains the policy information of the terminal from the SPR, and determines the permission according to the policy information. The terminal is simultaneously accessed from an access network of at least two access technology types.

Step 61: The PCRF sends a charging rule of the multiple access network to the gateway.

Step 62: The base station generates a data feature set of the terminal.

It should be noted that the execution sequence of step 61 and step 62 is not limited, and may be performed at the same time. Step 62 may be performed before step 61, or step 61 may be performed first.

Step 63: The base station sends the data feature set to the gateway.

Step 64: The gateway charges the service flow of the terminal based on the received data feature set of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network.

In the scenario of the multiple access network, when the terminal allows access to the access network of at least two types of access technologies, the base station generates a data feature set generated by the terminal in different access networks and sends the data feature set to the gateway to enable the gateway. Separating different access networks based on the data feature set to implement differentiated charging to meet the charging requirements of different access networks, and avoiding the charging of the access network based on the single access technology type in the prior art, resulting in charging Inaccurate question.

Specifically, the terminal sends a data feature set to the gateway, and the gateway includes the following three possible implementation manners when charging the service flow of the terminal based on the data feature set of the received terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network:

In a first possible implementation manner, after acquiring the policy information of the terminal, the base station determines that the terminal accesses from the access network of the at least two access technology types simultaneously, and sends a start indication to the gateway, where the start indication is used. After instructing the gateway to charge the service flow of the terminal according to the charging rule of the multiple access network, after receiving the start indication, the gateway does not follow the traditional method, that is, according to the received data packet. Statistical charging is performed, but statistical charging is performed according to the received data feature set, that is, charging is performed for data packets flowing through different access networks using different access network charging rules, when the base station approaches the gateway. After the data feature set is sent, the terminal is determined to send the release indication to the gateway only after accessing the access network of the access technology type, where the release indication is used to indicate that the gateway is based on the one type The charging rule of the access network of the technical type charges the service flow of the terminal, that is, when the base station stops performing data offloading according to the multiple access policy, immediately passes the control plane or the user plane. Gateway sends release instruction. After receiving the release indication, the gateway stops using multiple access. The charging mode of the network restores the charging mode of the single access network corresponding to the traditional licensed spectrum.

It should be noted that the charging rule of the access network of the foregoing access technology type and the charging rule of the multiple access network are two different charging rules that are sent by the PCRF to the gateway, and the foregoing one access technology The charging rule of the access network of the type is that when the terminal does not access from the access network of at least two access technologies, the charging rule used by the gateway to charge the data stream of the terminal, that is, the traditional authorized spectrum The billing mode of a single access network.

The start indication may be the first data feature set, or may be a single indication information, which is used to instruct the gateway to charge the service flow of the terminal according to the charging rule of the multiple access network.

It should be noted that, in this implementation manner, there may be a scenario in which the charging is repeated with two charging rules in a short period of time: for example, when the downlink data packet passes through the PGW, the PGW does not know that the terminal has accessed from at least two. The technology type access network accesses, and the data packet is subjected to statistical charging of the traditional 3GPP network charging mode, but when the data packet arrives at the base station, the base station decides to implement the data sharing scheme of the multiple access network, Data is offloaded to the terminal from at least two access networks, and the data packet is offloaded to the WLAN network according to the splitting policy of the multiple access network, and the data packet is accumulated in the WLAN in the next data feature set reported by the base station. In the amount of data on the network side. The PGW counts the charges according to the data feature set, and the data packet is periodically counted and billed once. To solve this short-term error, you can use the following methods:

Optionally, the data feature set sent by the base station further includes data feature set offset information, where the gateway receives the data feature set offset information of the terminal sent by the base station, and according to the data feature set offset information, the multiple connection The charging rule of the network is used to correct the service flow charging of the terminal, and the data feature set offset information includes a data feature set for describing repeated charging. That is, during the period when the terminal starts to use the multiple access network to access the uplink information packet and delivers it to the PGW, the PGW continues to use the charging mode of the 3GPP network because it does not know that the terminal has started using the multiple access network. Charging, which will result in charging error, so the base station needs to send the data feature set offset information to the PGW to correct the error. When the PGW receives the data feature set offset information, the data feature set will be subtracted from the charging information. The amount of data corresponding to the amount of data described in the offset information.

For example, the content of the data feature set offset information received by the PGW is as follows:

Bearer 1+3GPP RAT: 3MB.

Wherein: "+" in the above formula represents a correspondence relationship between respective contents included in the data feature set offset information. Bearer 1 indicates that the bearer identifier is 1, and the 3GPP RAT indicates that the radio access technology (Radio Access Technologies, RAT for short) is the access technology type of the 3GPP. In this case, the meaning of the data feature set offset information is: bearer The identifier is 1, and there is 3 MB of data volume under the 3GPP network, and repeated charging occurs in the charging mode of the 3GPP network.

At this time, the PGW deducts the data amount of 3 MB from the charging bill corresponding to the 3GPP network, thereby correcting the traffic flow of the terminal.

In a second possible implementation manner, the gateway keeps the charging mode of the traditional 3GPP network to perform statistical accounting on the data packet before receiving the data feature set, and after receiving the data feature set sent by the base station, the identification is different. The amount of data transmitted by the access network (3GPP or Non-3GPP) and the bearer information to which the user plane data belongs are corrected according to the data feature set for the previous statistical charging, as shown in the following example:

The content of the data feature set received by the PGW is as follows:

Bearer 1+3GPP RAT: 3MB. At this time, the meaning of the data feature set is: the bearer identifier is 1, and the data volume of 3 MB is generated under the 3GPP network, and the data volume of 3 MB needs to be charged by the charging rule of the 3GPP network.

Bearer 1+Non-3GPP RAT: 5MB. At this time, the meaning of the data feature set is: the bearer identifier is 1, and the data volume of 5 MB is generated under the Non-3GPP network. At this time, the data volume of 5 MB needs to be Non-3GPP. Billing rules for the network.

Bearer 2+3GPP RAT: 7MB. At this time, the data feature set indicates that the bearer identifier is 2, and the data volume of 7 MB is generated under the 3GPP network. At this time, the data volume of 7 MB needs to be calculated according to the charging rule of the 3GPP network. fee.

Bearer 2+Non-3GPP RAT: 6MB. At this time, the meaning of the data feature set is: the bearer identifier is 2, and the data amount of 6 MB is generated under the Non-3GPP network. At this time, the data volume of 6 MB needs to be charged by the charging rule of the Non-3GPP network.

The "+" in the above formula represents the correspondence between the respective contents included in the data feature set.

It is assumed that the PGW uses the charging rules of the 3GPP network to perform statistical accounting by default. After receiving the data feature set, the PGW deletes the charging of the 3GPP network of Bearer 1's 5 MB data, and uses this part of the data to be converted to the Non-3GPP network. The fee rules are re-charged; the 3GPP network of Bearer 2's 6 MB data is deleted, and this part of the data is re-charged using the charging rules of the Non-3GPP network. Thereby completing the correction billing.

In this implementation manner, the gateway does not completely rely on the base station to send the data feature set for statistical charging, and the PGW also implements the autonomous charging function. The PGW does not need the special sensing terminal to start and end the access from the multiple access network, only It is passively received after the data feature set is received. When the data feature set is not received, the charging is still performed according to the charging mode of the traditional 3GPP network.

In a third possible implementation manner, before obtaining the data feature set, the gateway keeps the charging mode of the traditional 3GPP network to perform statistical accounting on the data packet, but each time the data volume needs to be counted or reported, The data feature set is actively obtained from the base station, so that the statistical charging of the data packet can be accurately implemented. The specific process includes:

Step 1. The PGW receives and stores the policy information of the terminal during the attach process of the terminal or the PDN connection establishment process or the bearer establishment process.

Step 2: Detect whether a charging trigger event occurs. For example, in the scenario of online charging, if the amount of data of a certain charging rule needs to be reported, such as quota exhaustion, quota expiration, and user location change, it is determined that a charging trigger event occurs; If the user's location changes, the time period is reached, and the traffic statistics of a Rate Group (RG) needs to be shut down, the accounting trigger event is determined. In this case, the accumulated data volume corresponding to the RG needs to be packaged. Go to the bill and start over again.

Step 3: When the charging trigger event is detected, the PGW sends a request message for acquiring the data feature set to the base station, and the request message arrives at the base station via the SGW and the MME.

Optionally, the request message may include one or more of the following information: a start time and an end time corresponding to the data feature set, a first indication for indicating an access technology type in the data feature set, and an indication A second indication of the type of stream description in the data feature set. When the request information includes a start time and an end time corresponding to the data feature set, the base station reports the start time to the end time. The data feature set generated by the terminal in the period of time; when the request information includes the first indication of the type of the access technology in the data feature set, the base station reports the access type of the access technology corresponding to the terminal in the first indication. The data feature set generated by the network; when the request information includes a second indication for indicating a flow description in the data feature set, the base station reports the data feature set generated by the terminal for the flow corresponding to the second indication.

Step 4: When receiving the request message for acquiring the data feature set, the base station sends the data feature set to the PGW. The data feature set may be reported by using control plane signaling, or may be reported in the form of a user plane special data packet.

Step 5: The PGW charges the service flow of the terminal according to the received data feature set.

In the online charging scenario, the PGW reports the statistical result of the modified data volume of the 3GPP network to the charging system, and generates a bill of data amount corresponding to the Non-3GPP network.

In the offline charging scenario, the PGW writes the data volume of the reduced 3GPP network to the traffic CDR of the 3GPP network, and opens the traffic CDR of the Non-3GPP network, and generates the Non-3GPP corresponding according to the data feature set reported by the base station. The data amount information is written into the corresponding bill.

The solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention is mainly introduced from the perspective of interaction between the network elements. It can be understood that each network element, such as a base station, a PCRF, and a gateway, etc., in order to implement the above functions, includes hardware structures and/or software modules corresponding to each function. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in a combination of hardware or hardware and computer software in combination with the elements and algorithm steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or computer software to drive hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the solution. A person skilled in the art can use different methods for implementing the described functions for each particular application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present invention.

Based on the charging method of the multiple access network provided by the foregoing embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the embodiment of the present invention provides a charging apparatus 700, which can be used to execute the method shown in FIG. The device 700 may be a base station or a device installed on the base station, or another device capable of communicating with the base station. As shown in FIG. 7, the apparatus 700 includes an obtaining unit 701, a processing unit 702, and a transmitting unit 703, where:

The obtaining unit 701 is configured to acquire policy information of the terminal, where the policy information is used to indicate that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time;

The processing unit 702 is configured to generate, according to the policy information, a data feature set of the terminal, where the data feature set includes access technology type information of the access network and data description information of the access network, where the data The description information includes at least one of a data amount, a bearer identifier, and a stream description;

The sending unit 703 is configured to send the data feature set to the gateway.

Optionally, the at least two access technology types include an authorized spectrum and an unlicensed spectrum.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 701 is specifically configured to:

Obtaining the policy information from the HSS in the attaching process of the terminal; or acquiring the policy information from the PCRF in a packet data network PDN connection establishment process of the terminal; or a bearer connection in the terminal In the establishment process, the policy information is obtained from the PCRF.

Optionally, the processing unit 702 is specifically configured to:

And if the policy information indicates that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time, generating a data feature set of the terminal.

Optionally, the processing unit 702 is specifically configured to:

Periodically collecting the access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and the data description information of the access network to obtain a data feature set of the terminal; or, the amount of data generated by the terminal exceeds a preset threshold. And collecting the access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and the data description information of the access network, to obtain a data feature set of the terminal.

Optionally, after the acquiring unit 701 acquires the policy information of the terminal, the sending unit 703 is further configured to determine that the terminal accesses from the access network of the at least two access technology types simultaneously, and sends a start indication to the gateway, where The start indication is used to instruct the gateway to charge the service flow of the terminal according to a charging rule of the multiple access network;

After the sending of the data feature set to the gateway, the sending unit 703 is further configured to: after the terminal is only accessed from an access network of an access technology type, send a release indication to the gateway, where the release indication is used. And instructing the gateway to charge the service flow of the terminal based on a charging rule of the access network of the one access technology type.

The PCRF may be a device as shown in FIG. 9 or a device as shown in FIG. 10, and the gateway may be the device shown in FIG. 11 or the device shown in FIG.

It should be understood that the division of each unit in the above apparatus 700 is only a division of a logical function, and may be integrated into one physical entity in whole or in part, or may be physically separated. For example, each of the above units may be a separate processing element, or may be integrated in a chip of the base station, or may be stored in a storage element of the base station in the form of a program code, and is called by a processing element of the base station. And perform the functions of each unit above. In addition, the individual units can be integrated or implemented independently. The processing elements described herein can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method or each of the above units may be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor element or an instruction in a form of software. The processing element may be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), or may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, for example, one or more specific integrated circuits (Application Specific) Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or one or more digital singal processors (DSPs), or one or more Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs).

It should be noted that the function implementation and the interaction mode of the various units of the apparatus 700 in the embodiment of the present invention may be further referred to the description of the related method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

As shown in FIG. 8, the embodiment of the present invention further provides a device 800, which may be a base station or a device located on a base station, where the device 800 is configured to perform the execution process of the base station in the foregoing method embodiment, as shown in FIG. A schematic diagram of the structure of the device 800 provided by the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the device 800 includes a processor 801, a memory 802, and a communication interface 803. The program code for executing the solution of the present invention is stored in the memory 802, and is processed by the processor. 801, to control execution.

The program stored in the memory 802 is used by the instruction processor 801 to execute the charging method of the multiple access network shown in FIG.

The processor 801 can be a central processing unit (English: central processing unit, abbreviated: CPU), a network processor (English: network processor, abbreviated: NP) or a combination of a CPU and an NP.

The processor 801 may further include a hardware chip. The above hardware chip can be dedicated integration Circuit (English: application-specific integrated circuit, abbreviation: ASIC), programmable logic device (English: programmable logic device, abbreviation: PLD) or a combination thereof. The above PLD can be a complex programmable logic device (English: complex programmable logic device, abbreviation: CPLD), field-programmable gate array (English: field-programmable gate array, abbreviation: FPGA), general array logic (English: generic array Logic, abbreviation: GAL) or any combination thereof.

The memory 802 may include a volatile memory (English: volatile memory), such as a random access memory (English: random-access memory, abbreviation: RAM); the memory 802 may also include a non-volatile memory (English: non-volatile memory) For example, flash memory (English: flash memory), hard disk (English: hard disk drive, abbreviated: HDD) or solid state drive (English: solid-state drive, abbreviation: SSD); the memory 802 may also include the above types of memory The combination.

Based on the charging method of the multiple access network provided by the foregoing embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the embodiment of the present invention provides a charging apparatus 900, which can be used to execute the method shown in FIG. The device 900 may be a PCRF or a device installed on the PCRF, or another device capable of communicating with the PCRF. As shown in FIG. 9, the apparatus 900 includes a processing unit 901 and a transmitting unit 902, where:

The processing unit 901 is configured to determine that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time;

The sending unit 902 is configured to send, to the gateway, a charging rule of the multiple access network, so that the gateway compares the access technology type information of the access network of the terminal with the charging rule of the multiple access network. The service flow of the terminal is charged.

The charging rule of the multiple access network includes charging rules corresponding to the at least two types of access technologies.

It should be understood that the division of each unit in the above device 900 is only a division of a logical function, and the actual implementation may be integrated into one physical entity in whole or in part, or may be physically separated. For example, each of the above units may be a separate processing element or may be integrated in one of the PCRFs. Implemented in a chip.

It should be noted that the function implementation and the interaction mode of the various units of the apparatus 900 in the embodiment of the present invention may be further referred to the description of the related method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

As shown in FIG. 10, the embodiment of the present invention further provides a device 1000, which may be a PCRF or a device located on a PCRF, where the device 1000 is configured to perform the execution process of the PCRF in the foregoing method embodiment, as shown in FIG. A schematic diagram of the structure of the device 1000 provided by the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the device 1000 includes a processor 1001, a memory 1002, and a communication interface 1003. The program code for executing the solution of the present invention is stored in the memory 1002, and is processed by the processor. 1001, to control execution.

The program stored in the memory 1002 is used by the instruction processor 1001 to execute the charging method of the multiple access network shown in FIG.

The processor 1001 may be a central processing unit (English: central processing unit, abbreviated: CPU), a network processor (English: network processor, abbreviation: NP) or a combination of a CPU and an NP.

The processor 1001 may further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (abbreviated as PLD), or a combination thereof. The above PLD can be a complex programmable logic device (English: complex programmable logic device, abbreviation: CPLD), field-programmable gate array (English: field-programmable gate array, abbreviation: FPGA), general array logic (English: generic array Logic, abbreviation: GAL) or any combination thereof.

The memory 1002 may include a volatile memory (English: volatile memory), such as a random access memory (English: random-access memory, abbreviation: RAM); the memory 1002 may also include a non-volatile memory (English: non-volatile memory) ), such as flash memory (English: flash memory), hard disk (English: hard disk drive, abbreviated: HDD) or solid state drive (English: solid-state drive, abbreviation: SSD); the memory 1002 may also include the above types of memory The combination.

Based on the charging method of the multiple access network provided by the foregoing embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the embodiment of the present invention provides a charging apparatus 1100, which can be used to execute the method shown in FIG. among them, The apparatus 1100 can be a gateway or a device installed on the gateway, or other device capable of communicating with the gateway. As shown in FIG. 11, the apparatus 1100 includes a receiving unit 1101 and a processing unit 1102, wherein:

The receiving unit 1101 is configured to receive a charging rule of the multiple access network sent by the policy and charging rule function unit PCRF;

The receiving unit 1101 is further configured to receive a data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, where the data feature set includes access technology type information of the access network and data description information of the access network, where the data description information includes data. At least one of a quantity, a bearer identifier, and a stream description;

The processing unit 1102 is configured to perform charging on the service flow of the terminal based on the data feature set of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network.

The base station may be the device shown in FIG. 7 or the device shown in FIG. 8.

Optionally, the receiving unit 1101, before receiving the data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, receiving a start indication sent by the base station, where the start indication is used to indicate that the gateway is based on the charging rule of the multiple access network. Charging the service flow of the terminal;

The receiving unit 1101, after the processing unit 1102 charges the service flow of the terminal based on the data feature set of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network, receives the release indication sent by the base station, where Dereferencing the indication is used to instruct the gateway to charge the service flow of the terminal based on the charging rule of the access network of the access technology type currently accessed by the terminal;

The processing unit 1102 is further configured to perform charging on the service flow of the terminal based on a charging rule of an access network currently accessed by the terminal.

Optionally, the device further includes a sending unit 1103, configured to send a request message to the base station, where the receiving unit 1101 receives a data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, when the charging trigger event occurs, the request message Used to acquire a data feature set of the terminal.

In a possible design, the receiving unit 1101, after the processing unit 1102 charges the service flow of the terminal based on the data feature set of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network, receives the Decoding data feature set offset information of the terminal sent by the base station;

The processing unit 1102 is further configured to: according to the data feature set offset information, the multiple access network The charging rule corrects the service flow charging of the terminal, where the data feature set offset information includes a data feature set for describing repeated charging.

It should be understood that the division of each unit in the above device 1100 is only a division of a logical function, and the actual implementation may be integrated into one physical entity in whole or in part, or may be physically separated. For example, each of the above units may be a separately set processing element, or may be integrated into one chip of the gateway.

It should be noted that the function implementation and the interaction mode of the respective units of the apparatus 1100 in the embodiment of the present invention may be further referred to the description of the related method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

As shown in FIG. 12, the embodiment of the present invention further provides a device 1200, which may be a gateway or a device located on a gateway, where the device 1200 is configured to perform a gateway execution process in the foregoing method embodiment, as shown in FIG. A schematic diagram of the structure of the device 1200 provided by the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the device 1200 includes a processor 1201, a memory 1202, and a communication interface 1203. The program code for executing the solution of the present invention is stored in the memory 1202, and is processed by the processor. 1201, to control execution.

The program stored in the memory 1202 is used by the instruction processor 1201 to perform the charging method of the multiple access network shown in FIG.

The processor 1201 may be a central processing unit (English: central processing unit, abbreviated: CPU), a network processor (English: network processor, abbreviated: NP) or a combination of a CPU and an NP.

The processor 1201 may further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (abbreviated as PLD), or a combination thereof. The above PLD can be a complex programmable logic device (English: complex programmable logic device, abbreviation: CPLD), field-programmable gate array (English: field-programmable gate array, abbreviation: FPGA), general array logic (English: generic array Logic, abbreviation: GAL) or any combination thereof.

The memory 1202 may include a volatile memory (English: volatile memory), such as a random access memory (English: random-access memory, abbreviation: RAM); the memory 1202 may also include a non-volatile memory (English: non-volatile memory) ), such as flash memory (English) Text: flash memory), hard disk (English: hard disk drive, abbreviated: HDD) or solid state drive (English: solid-state drive, abbreviation: SSD); the memory 1202 may also include a combination of the above types of memory.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the steps of implementing the above embodiments may be performed by a program, and the program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, which is non-transitory ( English: non-transitory) media, such as random access memory, read-only memory, flash memory, hard disk, solid state disk, magnetic tape (English: magnetic tape), floppy disk (English: floppy disk), CD (English: optical disc) And any combination thereof.

The present invention has been described with reference to the respective flowcharts and block diagrams of the method and apparatus of the embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and block of the flowchart illustrations. FIG. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine for the execution of instructions for execution by a processor of a computer or other programmable data processing device. A device that implements the functions specified in one or more blocks of a flowchart or a plurality of flows and block diagrams.

The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention. Alternatives are intended to be covered by the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims (23)

A charging method for a multiple access network, characterized in that it comprises: The base station acquires policy information of the terminal, where the policy information is used to indicate that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time; The base station generates a data feature set of the terminal according to the policy information, where the data feature set includes access technology type information of the access network and data description information of the access network, where the data description information includes At least one of a data amount, a bearer identifier, and a stream description; The base station sends the data feature set to a gateway. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least two types of access technologies comprise licensed spectrum and unlicensed spectrum. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the acquiring, by the base station, the policy information of the terminal includes: Obtaining, by the base station, the policy information from a home subscription subscriber server HSS in an attach procedure of the terminal; or The base station acquires the policy information from a policy and charging rule function unit PCRF in a packet data network PDN connection establishment process of the terminal; or The base station acquires the policy information from the PCRF in the bearer connection establishment process of the terminal. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the base station generates a data feature set of the terminal according to the policy information, including: And if the policy information indicates that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time, generating a data feature set of the terminal. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the generating a data feature set of the terminal comprises: The base station periodically collects access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and data description information of the access network, to obtain a data feature set of the terminal; or The base station counts the connection of the terminal when the amount of data generated by the terminal exceeds a preset threshold The access technology type information of the network access and the data description information of the access network obtain the data feature set of the terminal. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: After the base station acquires the policy information of the terminal, the method further includes: determining, by the base station, that the terminal accesses from the access network of the at least two access technology types, and sends a start indication to the gateway, where The start indication is used to instruct the gateway to charge the service flow of the terminal based on the data feature set; After the base station sends the data feature set to the gateway, the method further includes: after the base station determines that the terminal accesses only the access network of the access technology type, sends a release indication to the gateway. The cancellation indication is used to instruct the gateway to charge the service flow of the terminal based on the charging rule of the access network of the one access technology type. A charging method for a multiple access network, characterized in that it comprises: The policy and charging rule function unit PCRF determines that the terminal is allowed to access simultaneously from access networks of at least two access technology types; Sending, by the PCRF, a charging rule of the multiple access network to the gateway, so that the gateway is configured according to the access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network to the terminal The service flow is billed; The charging rule of the multiple access network includes charging rules corresponding to the at least two types of access technologies. A charging method for a multiple access network, characterized in that it comprises: The gateway receives the charging rule of the multiple access network sent by the policy and charging rule function unit PCRF; The gateway receives a data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, where the data feature set includes access technology type information of the access network and data description information of the access network, where the data description information includes a data volume and a bearer identifier. At least one of a stream description and a stream description; The gateway charges the service flow of the terminal based on the data feature set of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network. The method of claim 8 wherein said gateway receives a transmission from a base station Before the data feature set of the terminal, the method further includes: The gateway receives a start indication sent by the base station, where the start indication is used to instruct the gateway to charge a service flow of the terminal according to a charging rule of the multiple access network; After the gateway charges the service flow of the terminal based on the data feature set of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network, the method further includes: The gateway receives the release indication sent by the base station, where the release indication is used to instruct the gateway to perform service on the terminal based on a charging rule of an access network of an access technology type currently accessed by the terminal. Streaming for billing; The gateway charges the service flow of the terminal based on a charging rule of the access network currently accessed by the terminal. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein before the gateway receives the data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, the method further includes: The gateway sends a request message to the base station when the charging triggering event occurs, where the request message is used to obtain a data feature set of the terminal. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the gateway calculates a service flow of the terminal based on a data feature set of the terminal and a charging rule of the multiple access network. After the fee, the method further includes: Receiving, by the gateway, data feature set offset information of the terminal sent by the base station; The gateway corrects the service flow charging of the terminal according to the data feature set offset information and the charging rule of the multiple access network, where the data feature set offset information is used to describe a repeating meter. The data feature set of the fee. A base station, comprising: a communication interface, configured to acquire policy information of the terminal, where the policy information is used to indicate that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time; a processor, configured to generate, according to the policy information, a data feature set of the terminal, where the data feature set includes access technology type information of the access network and data description information of the access network, where the data description The information includes at least one of a data amount, a bearer identifier, and a stream description; The communication interface is further configured to send the data feature set to a gateway. The base station according to claim 12, wherein said at least two access technology types comprise an authorized spectrum and an unlicensed spectrum. The base station according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the communication interface is specifically configured to: Acquiring the policy information from the home subscription subscriber server HSS in the attaching process of the terminal; or Acquiring the policy information from the policy and charging rule function unit PCRF in the packet data network PDN connection establishment process of the terminal; or In the bearer connection establishment process of the terminal, the policy information is acquired from the PCRF. The base station according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the processor is specifically configured to: And if the policy information indicates that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time, generating a data feature set of the terminal. The base station according to any one of claims 12-15, wherein the processor is specifically configured to: Periodically collecting access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and data description information of the access network, to obtain a data feature set of the terminal; or When the amount of data generated by the terminal exceeds a preset threshold, the access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and the data description information of the access network are collected to obtain a data feature set of the terminal. A base station according to any of claims 12-16, characterized in that said communication interface, After obtaining the policy information of the terminal, the method is further configured to determine that the terminal accesses from the access network of the at least two access technology types, and sends a start indication to the gateway, where the start indication is used to indicate that the gateway is based on The charging rule of the multiple access network charges the service flow of the terminal; After the data feature set is sent to the gateway, the terminal is further configured to send the release indication to the gateway after the terminal accesses only the access network of the access technology type, where the release indication is used to indicate The gateway is based on the charging rule of the access network of the access technology type to the terminal industry The service stream is billed. A policy and charging rule function unit PCRF, comprising: a processor, configured to determine that the terminal is allowed to access from the access network of at least two access technology types at the same time; a communication interface, configured to send a charging rule of the multiple access network to the gateway, so that the gateway is configured according to the access technology type information of the access network of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network. The service flow of the terminal is charged; The charging rule of the multiple access network includes charging rules corresponding to the at least two types of access technologies. A gateway, comprising: a communication interface, configured to receive a charging rule of a multiple access network sent by a policy and charging rule function unit PCRF; The communication interface is further configured to receive a data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, where the data feature set includes access technology type information of the access network and data description information of the access network, where the data description information includes At least one of a data amount, a bearer identifier, and a stream description; And a processor, configured to perform charging on the service flow of the terminal based on a data feature set of the terminal and a charging rule of the multiple access network. The gateway of claim 19 wherein said communication interface is for: Before receiving the data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, receiving a start indication sent by the base station, where the start indication is used to instruct the gateway to perform service flow on the terminal based on a charging rule of the multiple access network. Billing Receiving, by the processor, the cancellation indication sent by the base station after the charging of the service flow of the terminal, based on the data feature set of the terminal and the charging rule of the multiple access network, the release indication And indicating, by the gateway, charging, according to a charging rule of an access network currently accessed by the terminal, a service flow of the terminal; The processor is further configured to perform charging on the service flow of the terminal based on a charging rule of an access network currently accessed by the terminal. The gateway according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the communication interface is further configured to: Before receiving the data feature set of the terminal sent by the base station, when the charging trigger event occurs, sending a request message to the base station, where the request message is used to acquire the data feature set of the terminal. A gateway according to any of claims 19-21, characterized in that: The communication interface is configured to receive, after the processor performs charging on the service flow of the terminal, based on a data feature set of the terminal and a charging rule of the multiple access network, Data feature set offset information of the terminal; The processor is further configured to: correct, according to the data feature set offset information, the charging rule of the multiple access network, the service flow charging of the terminal, where the data feature set offset information includes A set of data features used to describe recurring billing. A charging system for a multiple access network, comprising: the base station according to any one of claims 12 to 17, the policy and charging rule function unit PCRF according to claim 18, and the claim The gateway according to any one of 19 to 22.

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