CHARGING METHOD, DEVICE, AND SYSTEM

• US 20120275348A1
• Filed: 07/12/2012
• Published: 11/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: ZHOU, Han, WU, Wenfu
• Granted Patent: US 9,100,816 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/259
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1457 using an account
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/108 when the policy decisions are valid for a limited amount of time
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/66 Policy and charging system
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/80 Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/086 using security domains
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

The embodiments of the present invention provide a charging method, device and system in the field of communications technologies. The charging method includes: learning that a user equipment accesses a network beyond an applicable condition; and charging the user equipment. The embodiments of the present invention enable the network operator to charge the user equipment for the access to the network beyond the applicable condition, thereby making it convenient for a user to access the network beyond the applicable condition and providing proper technical support for the charging management of the network operator.

Claims

1. At a gateway device in a mobile communication network, a method of discriminatively charging a device that access the network beyond a subscribed time range or location area, the method comprising:

receiving an event reported by a mobility management element, wherein the reported event comprises information indicating that a user equipment accesses a network beyond an applicable condition; and

generating a charging data record to charge the user equipment, wherein the charging data record is applicable to the user equipment'"'"'s access to the network beyond the applicable condition.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the applicable condition comprises at least one of the following:

information about subscribed time of the user equipment accessing the network;

information about a subscribed location of the user equipment accessing the network;

a subscribed maximum amount of data received or sent by the user equipment;

status of a subscribed application feature of the user equipment being active;

or

status of the subscribed application feature of the user equipment being inactive.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the event reported by the mobility management element and received at the gateway device is generated according to a trigger event delivered by the gateway device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the trigger event delivered by the gateway device includes a trigger event configured by the gateway device itself.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein configuring the trigger event by the gateway device comprises:

configuring the trigger event according to at least one of the following;

an identifier of the user equipment;

an identifier of an industrial user or group that the user equipment belongs to;

an application feature of the user equipment;

or an application feature of the industrial user or group that the user equipment belongs to.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the trigger event delivered by the gateway device includes a trigger event that is received by the gateway device and provided by an application server.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the trigger event delivered by the gateway device includes a trigger event that is received by the gateway device and provided by a policy and charging rules function (PCRF).

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the event reported by the mobility management element and received at the gateway device is generated according to the subscription data.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the charging data record further comprises at least one of the following:

information about time of the user equipment accessing the network;

information about a location of the user equipment accessing the network;

or

indication information indicating that the user equipment accesses the network beyond the applicable condition or indicating whether an application feature of the user equipment is activated.

10. A network device, comprising:

a learning unit configured to receive an event reported by a mobility management element, wherein the event comprises information indicating that the user equipment accesses the network beyond the applicable condition; and

a charging unit configured to generate a charging data record to charge the user equipment, wherein the charging data record is applicable to the user equipment'"'"'s access to the network beyond the applicable condition.

11. The network device of claim 10, wherein the applicable condition comprises at least one of the following:

a subscribed time segment of the user equipment accessing the network;

information about a subscribed location of the user equipment accessing the network;

a subscribed maximum amount of data received or sent by the user equipment;

status of a subscribed application feature of the user equipment being active;

or

status of the subscribed application feature of the user equipment being inactive.

12. The network device of claim 10, further comprising:

a delivering unit configured to deliver a trigger event to the mobility management element, wherein the trigger event serves to trigger the mobility management element to report the event.

13. A mobility management element, comprising:

a learning unit configured to learn that a user equipment accesses a network beyond an applicable condition;

an event generating unit configured to generate an event to be reported; and

a reporting unit configured to report the event to a gateway device so that the gateway device charges the user equipment, wherein the event comprises information indicating that the user equipment accesses the network beyond the applicable condition.

14. The mobility management element of claim 13, further comprising:

an event generating unit configured to generate the reported event according to a trigger event delivered by the gateway device or according to subscription data.