WO2010020076A1

WO2010020076A1 - A control charging method and equipment based on application service in a communication network

Info

Publication number: WO2010020076A1
Application number: PCT/CN2008/001503
Authority: WO
Inventors: 李向阳
Original assignee: 阿尔卡特朗讯
Priority date: 2008-08-21
Filing date: 2008-08-21
Publication date: 2010-02-25
Also published as: CN102100033A

Abstract

A control charging method and equipment based on application service in communication network is provided, thereinto, an application service triggering network equipment gets the information, which is related to each application service among one or more application service invoked by a session request, and an identification information, which is related to the session. Then the obtained information is provided to a charging triggering equipment. The charging triggering equipment judges whether one or more application service need to charge based on the obtained information related to the application service. If the result of judging is that the application service needs to charge, a charging request message is created and sent to a charging equipment. The charging equipment determines an application service group identification based on the charging request message and decides the price policy.

Description

Application service based communication network

Method and device for controlling billing

Technical field

The present invention relates to a system for controlling charging in a communication network, and more particularly to a control charging system for charging a plurality of related application services in a session based on an IP multimedia subsystem architecture. Background technique

In the existing 2G/3G traditional billing system, there is no uniform billing standard for the application service of the intelligent network. In the existing billing system, for smart application services with simple technology, such as: calling display, calling restriction, called display, called restriction, malicious call ID authentication, anonymous call rejection, call forwarding, call waiting Application services such as call hold, call barring, etc., are often integrated into existing network devices. For example, the Call Forwarding Service can be implemented in a Home Location Register (HLR) or in an intelligent network-based billing system.

And some complex application services are often implemented as separate implementation nodes. The charging method for these application services often adopts a simple method of flat rate (such as monthly subscription, for example, 5 yuan / month). Such a method of billing is sometimes unreasonable. For example, although a user sometimes opens an application service, the user does not use or rarely use the opened application service, but still has to pay a fixed fee each month.

In addition, existing billing systems do not associate the usage of the application service with the current call.

With the further development of communication networks, there are more and more types of application services invoked in a session, including but not limited to voice application services, instant messaging application services, video transmission application services, file transfer application services, and the like. Therefore, the traditional billing system has been unable to meet the management and billing requirements for 3G's increasingly diverse application services.

1

Confirmation To support IP multimedia services, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project Working Group (3GPP) proposed the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) in the R5 release. IMS is a comprehensive system based on IP technology, SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) converged voice, data, mobile, Internet. The core feature of IMS design is the SIP protocol and bearer-independent features.

Based on the IMS subsystem, 3 GPP defines in the TS23.218 protocol (IP Multimedia (IM) session handling; IM call model, http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/specs/html-info/23218.htm) Models for various applications of the IMS network, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based application servers, and Service Capability Interaction Manager (SCIM), see 3GPP TS 23.218 Figure 5.1.1.

However, this standard does not address how to bill the IMS application server. The current 3GPP TS 32.240-TS 32.299 technical standard defines a unified online charging and offline charging model, which separates the application service module from the unified charging system. However, the above standards do not specify how to apply to the involved application servers during the call. Unified billing.

The Multimedia Telephony Service (MMTel) is a specific application based on the IMS subsystem.

3GPP recognizes the importance of MMTel billing in the TS32.275 protocol (Telecommunication management; Charging management; MultiMedia Telephony (MMTel) charging, http://www.3gpp.org/FTP/Specs/html-info/32275. Htm ), mentioned the charge for multimedia telephony services, but because TS32.275 is only at the stage of the draft, it does not give how to manage and count multiple different applications when one MMTel calls multiple applications. The fee, how to generate a charging request message according to the application service related information of one or more applications that need to be charged is sent to the charging system, and how the charging system determines the price policy according to the charging request message. Summary of the invention

In view of the above problems in the prior art, the present invention proposes a new solution, as follows: The application service triggers the network device to acquire application service related information of each of one or more application services invoked by a session request, And the conversation phase The identification information is provided; the application service related information of the one or more application services requested to be invoked and the session related identification information are provided to the charging triggering device. The charging triggering device acquires application service related information of one or more application services of one or more application services related to a session from the application service triggering network device, and the session related identification information; Determining whether the one or more application services require charging according to application service related information of one or more application services in the service; application service related information and session related identifiers of one or more application services that need to be charged according to requirements Information to generate a charging request message; transmitting the charging request message to the charging device. The charging device pre-stores multiple application service group identifiers, and receives an accounting request message from the receiving charging triggering device, where the application service related information of the application service that needs to be charged is included, and the charging is performed according to the one or more requirements. The application service related information of the application service determines the application service group identifier. In addition, if the charging receives the charging request message from the charging triggering device, where the application service group identification information is already included, the charging system directly determines the price policy according to the group identification information.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling charging in an application service triggering network device of a communication network is provided, comprising the steps of: acquiring one or more application services related to a session Application service related information of each of the one or more application services invoked by the session request, and the session related identification information; application service related information of one or more application services invoked by the request and the The session related identification information is provided to the charging trigger network device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling charging in a charging trigger network device of a communication network is provided, comprising the steps of: acquiring a session related to a session from an application service triggering network device Or application service related information of one or more application services of the plurality of application services, and the session related identification information; according to application service related information of one or more application services of the one or more application services, Determining whether one or more application services of the one or more application services require charging; if one or more application services of the one or more application services require charging, then charging one according to requirements Or application service related information of the plurality of application services and the session related identification information to generate a charging request message; The charging request message is sent to the charging device.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling charging in a charging device of a communication network is provided, characterized in that: a plurality of application service group identifiers are pre-stored in the charging device, wherein each The application group identifier corresponds to an identifier of one or more application services included in the application service group identified by the application server group identifier, and the method includes the following steps: receiving an accounting request message from the charging trigger network device, where The charging request message includes application service related information of one or more application services that need to be charged related to one session, and the session related identification information; an application of one or more application services that are charged according to the requirement The service related information determines an application service group identifier corresponding to the one or more application services that need to be charged; and determines a price policy according to the application service group identifier.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling charging in a charging device of a communication network is provided, characterized in that: a plurality of application service group identifiers are pre-stored in the charging device, wherein each The application group identifier corresponds to the identifier of the one or more application services included in the application service group identified by the application group identifier, and the method includes the following steps: receiving an accounting request message from the charging trigger network device, where The charging request message includes application service group identification information corresponding to the one or more application services that need to be charged, and session related identification information that invokes one or more application services that need to be charged; Service group identification, determining the price strategy.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a first charging control apparatus for controlling charging in an application service triggering network device of a communication network is provided, which includes: a first obtaining means, configured to acquire a session with a session Application service related information of each of the one or more application services invoked by the session request in the one or more application services, and the session related identification information; first providing means, The application service related information of the one or more application services requested to be invoked and the session related identification information are provided to the charging trigger network device.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a second charging control apparatus for controlling charging in a charging trigger network device of a communication network is provided, which includes: a second obtaining means, configured to acquire an application service Triggering a session related to a network device Application service related information of one or more application services of the one or more application services, and the session related identification information; first determining means, configured to perform one or more according to the one or more application services Determining, by the application service related information of the service, whether one or more application services of the one or more application services need to be charged; and charging request message generating means, if used in the one or more application services The one or more application services need to be charged, and the charging service request message is generated according to the application service related information of the one or more application services that need to be charged and the session related identification information; Sending the charging request message to the charging device.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a first charging device for controlling charging in a charging device of a communication network is provided, characterized in that: a plurality of application service group identifiers are pre-stored in the charging device, Each of the application group identifiers corresponds to one or more application services included in the application service group identified by the application service group identifier, and the first charging device includes: a first charging request receiving device, configured to: Receiving an accounting request message from the charging triggering network device, where the charging request message includes application service related information of one or more application services that need to be charged related to one session, and the session related identification information; a service group identifier determining apparatus, configured to determine, according to the application service related information of the one or more application services that need to be charged, an application service group identifier corresponding to the one or more application services that need to be charged; a price policy determining device, configured to determine a price policy according to the application service group identifier.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, a second charging device for controlling charging in a charging device of a communication network is provided, wherein a plurality of application service group identifiers are pre-stored in the charging device. Each of the application group identifiers corresponds to an identifier of one or more application services included in the application service group identified by the application service group identifier, and the second charging device includes: a second charging request receiving device, configured to: Receiving an accounting request message from the charging triggering network device, where the charging request message includes application service group identification information corresponding to the one or more application services that need to be charged, and calling one of the required charging Or session-related identification information of the plurality of application services; and second price policy determining means, configured to determine a price policy according to the application service group identifier. With the technical solution provided by the present invention, one or more applications invoked in one session, how to perform billing management on one or more applications, and how to determine a charging policy solution are provided. DRAWINGS

Other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the Detailed Description of Description

1 is a schematic diagram of a network structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an application service triggering network device 1, a charging trigger network device 2, and a charging device 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A flowchart of a system method for charging an application service related information of an application service;

3 is a flowchart of a system method for an application service trigger network device, a charging trigger network device 2, and a charging device 3 to perform charging according to the acquired application service related information of an application service according to a variant embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a diagram showing an application service of a communication network triggering a first charging control device 10 in the network device 1, a second charging control device 20 in the charging trigger network device 2, and a meter according to an embodiment of the present invention. The first charging device 30 in the fee device 3 is used to perform a device block diagram of the application service based charging operation.

Wherein, the same or similar reference numerals indicate the same or similar step features or devices/modules. detailed description

1 is a schematic diagram of a topology of a network structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The Service Control Interaction Module (SCIM) 6 is located at the application layer. Used to control one or more application services.

Application services include video services, audio services, file services, streaming services, short number services, caller display services, call barring services, called display services, called barring services, malicious call ID authentication services, anonymous call denial services , call forwarding service, call waiting service, call hold service. In this embodiment, each application service Represented by the application server hosting the application service. For convenience of explanation, only the audio server 4a carrying the audio service, the video server 4b carrying the video service, the instant message server 4c carrying the instant message service, the short number server 4d carrying the short number service, and the file server 4e carrying the file service are shown. .

The service control interaction module 6 can be interconnected with the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 5 through an ISC (IMS Service Controller) interface or a Sh interface (a DIAMETER protocol interface for interconnecting with an HSS (Home Subscriber Server) in an IMS network). The IP Multimedia Subsystem includes a Serving Call Session Control Function Device (S-CSCF) 用 for interacting with the Service Control Interaction Module 6.

The control interaction module 6 can also interact with the circuit switched network (CS domain) 9 through the Intelligent Network Application Protocol (INAP), the application portion of the enhanced logic (CAMEL Application Part, CAP), the ISDN User Part (ISUP), The Mobile Application Part (MAP) and the CDMA Wireless Intelligent Network Protocol (IS 826) interface are connected, and the circuit switched network 9 may include a PSTN network, or may include a circuit switched part of the GSM network, or a circuit switched part of the CDMA network. Wait. The circuit switched portion of the GSM network includes a mobile switching center 8 for interacting with the service control interaction module 6.

In addition, the Service Control Interaction Module 6 can also be interconnected with a Data Switching Network (PS Domain).

The service control interaction module 6 includes an application service trigger network device 1 and a charging trigger network device 2. The application service triggers the network device. 1 The management of the accounting-related information of each application server is implemented. The charging triggering network device 2 sends the information of the application server that needs to be charged to the charging device 3.

In the following specific embodiments, we will specifically describe the SIP protocol-based message exchanged between the service interaction module 6 and the serving call session control function device 7 in the IP multimedia subsystem network. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the service interaction module 6 can also exchange messages based on the INAP protocol, the CAP protocol, the ISUP protocol, and the MAP protocol with the circuit switched network 9 for controlling user billing, and its implementation and service. The call session control function device 7 processes the SIP protocol based message similarly, I will not repeat them here.

Hereinafter, the system method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 with the user requesting the multimedia telephone service as an example.

2 is a flowchart of a system method for an application service triggering network device, a charging trigger network device 2, and a charging device 3 to perform charging according to the acquired application service related information of an application service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A terminal device used by a user supports multimedia telephony services. The user requests to initiate a multimedia phone service, because the user is the originator of the session, hereinafter referred to as the user as the calling user, and the other party called by the calling user is called the called user. In the multimedia phone service, Both the calling user and the called user can add new media services during the call. For example, the calling party dials the short number of the called user and requests to place a video call. The user equipment of the calling user generates a session request message, where the session request message includes the identification information of the calling user and the identification information of the called user, and the type of the service requested by the calling user, that is, the IMS communication service identifier ( IMS-Communication-Service-Identifier A VP ). The user equipment of the calling user sends the session request message to the Serving Call Session Control Function Device (S-CSCF).

The serving call session control function device determines, according to its own internal logic, whether to route the session request message to the application service trigger network device 1.

In the step S100, the application service triggers the network device 1 to obtain the session request message from the service call session control function device 6, where the session request message includes the session-related identification information, that is, the identification information of the calling user and the identifier of the called user. The information further includes an IMS communication service identifier that is requested by the calling user, where the IMS communication service identifier is used to identify that the service type requested by the session is a video call service.

In this embodiment, the session-related identification information in the session request message includes both the identification information of the calling user and the identification information of the called user. Because even in the case of charging the calling party, when the calling user establishes three different types of calls, such as local call, domestic long distance or international long distance, the charging standard is different, and therefore, the identification information of the called user is required. To distinguish between different tariffs. In a variant embodiment, for example, only the calling party is allowed to make a local call, since the call is not due to It is affected by the difference of the called user. Therefore, the session related identification information may only contain the identification information of the calling user. Similarly, in the case of the called user charging, if the difference of the calling user does not affect the tariff standard of the called user, the session related identification information may only include the identification information of the called user.

In step S101, the application service triggers the network device 1 to first determine the 6246 as a short number according to the number of the called user in the session request message, for example, the number is 6246, and determine that the session needs to invoke the short number server. The number is then routed to the short number server 4d. The short number server 4d searches the mapping table between the short number and the actual number stored therein to determine that the actual number corresponding to the short number 6246 is 13512345678, and the short number server 4d returns the actual number to the application service trigger network device 1 . Since the session invokes the service provided by the short number server 4d, the application service triggers the network device 1 to save the identification information of the short number server 4d. The application service triggers the network device 1 to also request the service according to the calling user in the session request message. That is, the video call service determines that the session needs to call the audio server 4a and the video server 4b, and the application service triggers the network device 1 to allow the audio server 4a and the video server 4b to receive the session request message and respond to the call of the session, and the application service triggers The network device 1 further acquires the identification information 0001 of the audio server 4a and the identification information 0010 of the video server 4b, respectively.

In step S102, the application service triggers the application service related information of the application service that the network device 1 requests to invoke, that is, the identification information of each application server that is requested to be invoked, including: the identification information 0100 of the short number server 4d, and the identifier of the audio server 4a. The information 0001 and the identification information 0010 of the video server 4b, and the identification information of the calling user and the identification information of the called user are provided to the charging trigger network device 2 through the internal interface.

In step S103, the charging trigger network device 2 acquires application service related information from the application service triggering network device 1 application service, that is, the identification information 0100 of the short number server 4d, the identification information 0001 of the audio server 4a, and the video server. The identification information 0010 of 4b, and the identification information of the calling user and the identification information of the called user.

The billing trigger network device 2 internally stores a database, and saves each application service. Whether the server needs charging information, the charging trigger network device 2 searches the database to determine whether multiple application servers called by the session request need to charge. For example, in the database, according to the policy formulated by the operator, the charging trigger network device 2 determines that calling the short number server 4d does not require charging, and calling the audio server 4a and the video server 4b requires charging, and the audio server 4a and the video server 4b are application servers for online charging.

In step S014, the charging trigger network device 2 generates an online charging request message according to the identification information 0001 and 0010 of the audio server 4a and the video server 4b requiring online charging and the identification information of the calling user and the called user.

In step S105, the charging trigger network device 2 transmits the online charging request message to the online charging subsystem 3a in the charging device 3 via the online charging interface Ro.

In step S106, after the online charging subsystem 3a obtains the online charging request message, according to the identification information of the calling user and the called user, and the online charging subsystem 3a prestores the online of the calling user. Based on the account balance information, the online charging subsystem 3a determines whether the calling party and the called user of the session are allowed to invoke the application services provided by the online charging audio server 4a and the video server 4b.

Specifically, if the charging type that the calling user and the called user join is charging for the initiator of the application service, that is, when the session is initially established or during the call, the calling user requests the application service called by the main The user is called to pay; if the called user requests to invoke one or more application services during the call, if the application services need to be charged, the called user who initiated the application service pays. Therefore, in the session of this embodiment, the audio server 4a and the video server 4b of the online charging that the calling user requests to call are all charged by the calling user. The online charging subsystem 3a determines whether the balance of the online account of the calling user is sufficient. If sufficient, for example, the balance of the online account of the calling user is above a predetermined threshold, the online charging subsystem 3a authorizes the calling user and is Ask the user to use the application service they are requesting.

In addition, the online charging subsystem 3a maintains a correspondence table between the application server identification information of the online charging and the application server group identifier, that is, Table 1. The online charging subsystem 3a can determine the application services of one or more application servers according to Table 1. The application server group identifier for online charging corresponding to the combination of devices.

Table 1

Specifically, in step S106, after the online charging subsystem 3a determines that the calling user and the called user of the session are allowed to invoke the application services provided by the online charging audio server 4a and the video server 4b, in step S107, The online charging subsystem 3a needs to determine the corresponding application server group identifier according to the identification information of the application server audio server 4a and the video server 4b, and Table 1. In this embodiment, the session request initiated by the calling user invokes the service provided by the audio server 4a whose application server identification information is 0001 and the video server 4b whose application server identification information is 0010. Therefore, the online charging subsystem 3a according to Table 1 It is determined that the application server group identifier for charging corresponding to the two online charging server is ΠΙ.

In step S108, the online charging subsystem 3a determines the price policy based on the application server group identification III. Specifically, the online charging subsystem 3a determines the corresponding fee calculation rule according to the application server group identifier, including whether to use the promotion plan, the discount plan, the reward plan, and the like. Different application server group identifiers affect the cost calculation rule. The following is only an example: The billing unit price corresponding to the application service group I identified as I is unit price 1 (that is, the rate is unit price 1, and the billing per minute is Unit price 1), the billing unit price corresponding to the application service group II identified as II is unit price 2 (that is, the rate is unit price 2, the billing per minute is unit price 2), and the application service group 111 identified as III corresponds The unit price for billing is unit price 3 (that is, the rate is unit price 3, and the billing per minute is unit price 3). These specific cost calculation rules can be set by the network operator according to the specific network operation status, or the charging device 3 can be automatically adjusted during the operation.

Therefore, in step S109, the online charging subsystem 3a calculates the account balance of the calling user and the rate information corresponding to the application service group (for example, how much is charged in one minute) Estimating the length of time allowed for the call to generate authorization information about the application service, including authorizing the calling user and the called user to use the requested application server audio server

4a and video server 4b and the estimated length of time allowed for the call.

In a variant embodiment, the authorization related information only includes the application server audio server 4a and video server 4b that authorize the calling and called users to use their request. If the user is a pay-per-view or monthly user, the time-length information may not be included in the authorization related information.

In step S110, the online charging subsystem 3a sends the authorization related information to the charging trigger network device 2.

In step S1 11, the charging trigger network device 2 receives the online charging subsystem.

After the information about the authorization of the application service is 3a, the charging trigger network device 2 provides the application service triggering network device 1 with the authorization related information of the application service.

In step S1 12, the application service triggers the network device 1 to receive the authorization related information of the application service from the charging trigger network device 2, that is, allows the calling user and the called user to use the application server audio server 4a and the video server 4b. Application services provided. After being authorized by the online charging subsystem, the application service triggers the network device 1 to allow the calling user and the called user to use the authorized application service.

When a session continues for a period of time, the online charging system 3a determines the actual rate (for example, how much is charged in one minute) when the online charging system 3a terminates the session due to insufficient balance of the charging user account of the session. And determining the actual call charge based on the actual call duration, and returning the message of the end of the session to the calling user and the called user; when a session is terminated by the calling user or the called user, the online charging system 3a determines the actual Rate, and based on actual call duration, determine the actual call cost.

In the above embodiment, in step S106, the online charging subsystem 3a determines that the balance of the online account of the calling user is higher than a predetermined threshold, and authorizes the calling user and the called user to use the requested application service. In a variant embodiment, in step S106, the online charging subsystem 3a determines that the balance in the online account of the calling user is insufficient, and the online charging subsystem 3a generates an authorization related information in step S109, including The calling user and the called user are not allowed to use the application service provided by the requested application server. Business.

Then, in step S110, the online charging subsystem 3a transmits the authorization related information to the charging trigger network device 2.

Further, in step S111, the charging trigger network device 2 receives the authorization related information of the application service from the online charging subsystem 3a and provides the authorization related information of the application service to the application service triggering network device 1, wherein The authorization related information of the application service includes an application service provided by the application server audio server 4a and the video server 4b that the user is not allowed to use the request, and therefore, the session request message is terminated by the application service triggering network device 1, and will not be The application service triggers the network device 1 to be routed to the called user, so the session cannot be established.

In the above embodiment, the calling user only initiates a session request message. In a modified embodiment, the calling user or the called user may also change the application service requested by the calling user after establishing the session. The application service requesting the user to change the call is described as an example. The case where the called user requests to change the invoked application service during the call is similar to the calling user, and details are not described herein.

Referring to FIG. 3, in step S113, the application service triggering network device 1 further needs to detect whether the called application server has changed, that is, whether the calling user or the called user also requests to call the audio server 4a in addition to the call. And the new application server other than the video server 4b, or the calling user or the called user requests to terminate the called audio server 4a and/or the video server 4b.

If the calling user requests to quit the video service and simultaneously invokes a new instant messaging service, the calling user's user equipment sends a session request message to the S-CSCF, including the exit video service and the request to invoke the instant messaging service. The S-CSCF forwards the session request message to the application service trigger network device 1. In step S114, the application service triggers the network device 1 to discover that the application server has changed, including the video server 4b requesting to quit the session, and the instant message server 4c requests to join the session. Then, the application service triggers the network device 1 to request the video server 4b with the identification information of 0010 to request to exit the session, and the instant message server 4c with the identification information of 001 1 requests to join the session and the identification information of the session is sent to the charging trigger network device 2. The charging trigger network device 2 and the charging device 3 repeatedly perform step S103 to SI 12, . Specifically, in step S103', the charging trigger network device 2 acquires application service related information from the application server of the application service triggering network device 1, that is, the video server 4b that terminates the calling identification information is 0010, and the new request calling identification information is After the instant messaging server 4c of 001 1, the charging trigger network device 2 determines whether the two application servers require charging. According to the list of application servers that need to be charged according to internal maintenance, the charging trigger network device 2 determines that the video server 4b is an application server that needs to be charged, and is an application server for online charging; the charging trigger network device 2 determines an instant message server. It is an application server that needs to be charged, and is an application server that is offline charged.

In step S104', the charging trigger network device 2 is based on the termination call identifier information.

The video server 4b of 0010 generates an online charging request message, and invokes an instant message server 4c whose identification information is 0011 according to the new request, and generates an offline charging request message.

In step S105, the charging trigger network device 2 sends the online charging request message to the online charging subsystem 3a through the online charging interface Ro, and sends the offline charging request message to the offline charging interface Rf to Offline charging subsystem 3b.

In this embodiment, when an offline charging request message is generated, the charging trigger network device 2 immediately sends the offline charging request message to the offline charging subsystem 3b through the Rf interface, and the offline charging message is used. The timing of sending an offline charging request message is only an example. In the actual billing system, the timing of the offline charging request message is sent in the DIAMETER protocol. For the DIAMTER protocol, refer to htt ://www. ietf.org/rfc/rfc3588.txt. For the Rf interface specification, refer to http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/html-info/32299.htm. The Rf interface supports the offline charging request message based on the DIAMTER protocol. The status of the offline charging request message includes start, interim, stop, and event.

The online charging subsystem 3a and the offline charging subsystem 3b in the charging device 3 receive an online charging request message and an offline charging request message from the charging trigger network device 2, respectively. In the billing device 3, all the calls called up to one session have been maintained so far. The sequence table of the application service, therefore, the charging device 3 knows all the application servers that the session has currently called. According to the sequence table, in the application service requiring online charging, the charging device 3 knows the video server 4b whose session termination call identification information is 0010.

Then, in step S106', the online charging subsystem 3a obtains the identification information of the calling user and the called user, and the online charging subsystem 3a prestores the online account balance information of the calling user, according to the account balance. Information, the online charging subsystem 3a determines whether the calling party and the called user of the session are allowed to invoke the application service provided by the online charging audio server 4a.

In addition, the offline charging subsystem 3b maintains a correspondence table between the application server identification information of the offline charging and the application server group identifier, that is, Table 2. According to Table 2, the offline charging subsystem 3b can determine the application server group identifier for charging corresponding to the application server combination composed of one or more offline charging application servers.

Table 2

In step S107, the offline charging subsystem 3b searches the table 2 according to the identification information 001 1 of the instant message server 4c, and determines that the corresponding application server group identifier for charging is i.

If the online charging subsystem 3a determines in step S106' that the calling party and the called user of the session allow the application service provided by the online charging audio server 4a, then in step S017', the online meter The fee subsystem 3a searches the table 1 according to the identification information 0001 of the online charging audio server 4a, and determines that the group identification information of the application server for charging is I.

In step S108', the offline charging subsystem 3b is identified according to the application server group identifier. i, determine the price strategy. Specifically, the offline charging subsystem 3b determines the corresponding fee calculation rule according to the application server group identifier i, including whether to use a promotion plan, a discount plan, a reward plan, and the like. Different application server group IDs affect the cost calculation rule. The following is only an example: The billing unit price corresponding to the application service group i identified as i is the unit price a, and the billing unit price corresponding to the application service group ii identified as ii is the unit price. b. The unit price of the bill corresponding to the application service group iii identified as iii is the unit price c. These specific cost calculation rules may be set by the network operator according to the specific network operation status, or the charging device 3 may be automatically adjusted during the operation.

For the offline charging application server, since the charging information does not affect the application service provided by the calling user and/or the called user in real time, the charging device 3 does not need to determine the authorization information, that is, step S106' and the steps. S109' to step S112' may be omitted.

In step S108', the online charging subsystem 3a in the charging device 3 determines the price policy for online charging based on the application server group identification I.

Thereafter, the online charging subsystem 3a in the charging device 3 needs to repeat steps S109' to S112', because the above steps are similar to steps S109 to S112, and are not described herein.

In the above embodiment, the application service triggers the changed application service detected by the network device 1 to be an application service including offline charging, and also includes an online charging application service. In a modified embodiment, in the initial session The application service that is newly called during the phase request invocation or the session only includes the offline charging application service. In this case, the charging triggers the steps performed by the network device 2 and the charging device 3 and the step S103 to the step S112'. Similar, it will not be repeated here.

In the foregoing embodiments, when the user is a monthly user or the service charging mode of the application is the number-by-digit charging, the time-related information does not need to be included in the charging request message. In a variant embodiment, the charging device 3 needs to perform charging according to the duration information of the application service that the calling user or the called user requests to invoke or has already invoked. Therefore, in step S102, the application service triggers the network. The device 1 needs to include the time of the request to be invoked by the application service or the time information of the request to be withdrawn in the application service related information provided to the charging trigger network device 2 when the user requests to invoke an application service or requests to exit an application service. In step S105, the time trigger information is also included in the online charging request message or the offline charging request message sent by the charging triggering network device 2 to the online charging subsystem 3a or the offline charging system 3b of the charging device 3.

In the above embodiment, when the application service triggers the network device 1 to detect the application service related to the session, that is, the application service invoked or invoked by the session request changes, in step S114, the application service triggers the network. The device 1 reports the application service related information of the changed application service to the charging trigger network device 2. In a variant embodiment, in step S114, when the application service triggers the network device 1 to discover that the application server has changed, including the video server 4b requesting to quit the session, and the instant message server 4c requests to join the session, the application The service triggering network device 1 provides the identification information of the changed application server to the charging trigger network device 2. That is, the application service triggers the network device 1 that the audio server 4a whose identification information is 0001 remains in the session and the instant message server 4c whose identification information is 001 1 requests to join the session and the identification information of the session is sent to the charging trigger network device 2. Accordingly, there is no need in the billing device 3 to maintain a sequence listing of all application services invoked by a session so far. Instead, the corresponding application service group identifier is directly found according to the changed application server's charging request message.

In another variant embodiment, step S 107 can be performed by the charging trigger network device 2, that is, the charging trigger network device 2 determines one or more application servers that need to be charged according to Table 1 or Table 2. The application server group identifier corresponding to the combination is combined, and the application service group identification information is included in the charging request message and sent to the charging device 3 in step S105.

The charging device 3 receives the charging request message from the charging trigger network device 2, and the charging server message includes the application server group identification information. Then, in step S106, the charging device according to the charging request message The identification information of the calling user and the called user determines whether the session is allowed to invoke the application service group. If so, in S108, the charging device 3 directly determines the application server group identification information included in the charging request message. Determine the price strategy.

In a variant embodiment of the above embodiment, the charging request in step S105 The message includes the application server group identifier corresponding to the combination of one or more application servers, and also includes the generation time and the dissolution time of the application server group.

The charging device 3 also determines the price policy based on the generation time and the dissolution time of the application server group.

In each of the above embodiments, the application service triggering network device 1 and the charging trigger network device 2 are integrated in a network device, that is, a service control interaction module (SCIM) 6. In a modified embodiment, the application service triggers The network device 1 and the charging trigger network device 2 can also be located in two separate network devices.

4 is an application service of a communication network triggering a first charging control device 10 in the network device 1, a second charging control device 20 in the charging trigger network device 2, and charging according to an embodiment of the present invention. A first billing device 30 in device 3 is used to perform a device service based billing operation.

The first charging control device 10 shown in Fig. 4 is located in the application service triggering network device 1 shown in Fig. 1. The first charging control device 10 includes a first obtaining device 100, a first providing device 101, a detecting device 102, a second providing device 103, a first authorization information receiving device 104, and an application service processing device 105. The first obtaining device 100 further includes a session request message acquiring device 1000, an application service determining device 1001, and a charging information acquiring device 1002.

The second charging control device 20 includes a second obtaining device 200, a first determining device 201, a charging request generating device 202, a charging request transmitting device 203, a second authorization information receiving device 204, and a first authorization information transmitting device. 205.

The first charging device 30 includes a first charging request receiving device 300, an application service group identification determining device 302, a first price policy determining device 303, a second determining device 301, an authorization information generating device 304, and a second authorization information. Transmitting device 305.

A terminal device used by a user supports multimedia telephony services. The user requests to initiate a multimedia phone service, because the user is the originator of the session, hereinafter referred to as the user as the calling user, and the other party called by the calling user is called the called user. In the multimedia phone service, Both the calling user and the called user can add new media services during the call. For example, the calling user dials the short number of the called user and requests to send Start a video call. The user equipment of the calling user generates a session request message, where the session request message includes the identification information of the calling user and the identification information of the called user, and the type of the service requested by the calling user, that is, the IMS communication service identifier ( IMS-Communication-Service-Identifier A VP ). The user equipment of the calling user sends the session request message to the Serving Call Session Control Function Device (S-CSCF).

The session request message obtaining apparatus 1000 in the first obtaining apparatus 100 acquires a session request message from the serving call session control function device 6, and the session request message includes session related identifier information, that is, identification information of the calling user and the called user. The identification information further includes an IMS communication service identifier requested by the calling user, where the IMS communication service identifier is used to identify that the service type requested by the session is a video call service.

In this embodiment, the session-related identification information in the session request message includes both the identification information of the calling user and the identification information of the called user. Because even in the case of charging the calling party, when the calling user establishes three different types of calls, such as local call, domestic long distance or international long distance, the charging standard is different, and therefore, the identification information of the called user is required. To distinguish between different tariffs. In a variant embodiment, for example, where only the calling party is allowed to make a local call, since the call is not affected by the called user, the session related identification information may only include the calling user. Identification information. Similarly, in the case of the called user charging, if the difference of the calling user does not affect the tariff standard of the called user, the session related identification information may only include the identification information of the called user.

Then, the application service determining apparatus 1001 first determines that 6246 is a short number according to the number of the called user in the session request message, for example, the number is 6246, and determines that the session needs to call the short number server, and then The number is routed to the short number server 4d. The short number server 4d searches the mapping table between the short number and the actual number stored therein to determine that the actual number corresponding to the short number 6246 is 13512345678, and the short number server 4d returns the actual number to the application service trigger network device 1 . Because the session invokes the service provided by the short number server 4d, In this case, the charging information obtaining means 1002 acquires the charging related information of the application service, that is, the identification information 0100 of the short number server 4d.

The application service determining apparatus 1001 further determines that the session needs to invoke the audio server 4a and the video server 4b according to the service requested by the calling user in the session request message, that is, the video call service, and the application service triggers the network device 1 to allow the audio server 4a and The video server 4b receives the session request message and responds to the call of the session, and the billing information obtaining means 1002 further acquires the identification information 0001 of the audio server 4a and the identification information 0010 of the video server 4b, respectively.

Then, the first providing device 101 will request the application service related information of the application service, that is, the identification information of each application server that is requested to be invoked, including: the identification information 0100 of the short number server 4d, the identification information 0001 of the audio server 4a, and the video. The identification information 0010 of the server 4b, and the identification information of the calling user and the identification information of the called user are provided to the charging trigger network device 2 through the internal interface.

Then, the second obtaining device 200 in the second charging control device 20 acquires the application service related information of the application service from the application service triggering network device 1, that is, the identification information 0100 of the short number server 4d and the identification information of the audio server 4a. 0001 and the identification information 0010 of the video server 4b, and the identification information of the calling user and the identification information of the called user.

The billing trigger network device 2 internally stores a database to store information about whether each application server needs to be billed. The first judging device 201 searches the database to determine whether a plurality of application servers called by the session request need to charge. For example, in the database, according to the policy formulated by the operator, the charging trigger network device 2 determines that calling the short number server 4d does not require charging, and calling the audio server 4a and the video server 4b requires charging, and the audio server 4a and the video server 4b are application servers for online charging.

Then, the charging request generating means 202 generates an online charging request message based on the identification information 0001 and 0010 of the audio server 4a and the video server 4b requiring online charging and the identification information of the calling user and the called user.

The charging request sending device 203 passes the online charging request message through online charging The port Ro is sent to the online charging subsystem 3a in the charging device 3.

After receiving the online charging request message from the charging trigger network device 2, the second determining device 301 obtains the identification information of the calling user and the called user in the online charging request message. And the online account balance system 3a prestores the online account balance information of the calling user. According to the account balance information, the second determining means 301 determines whether the calling party and the called user of the session are allowed to call the online charging audio server. 4a and application services provided by video server 4b.

Specifically, if the charging type that the calling user and the called user join is charging for the initiator of the application service, that is, when the session is initially established or during the call, the calling user requests the application service called by the main The user is called to pay; if the called user requests to invoke one or more application services during the call, if the application services need to be charged, the called user who initiated the application service pays. Therefore, in the session of this embodiment, the audio server 4a and the video server 4b of the online charging that the calling user requests to call are all charged by the calling user. The second judging means 301 judges whether the balance of the online account of the calling user is sufficient. If the balance of the online account of the calling user is sufficient, for example, the balance of the online account of the calling user is higher than a predetermined threshold, the judging means 301 judges that the result is an authorized calling user. And the called user uses the application service they requested.

The first charging device 30 maintains a correspondence table between the application server identification information of the online charging and the application server group identifier, that is, Table 3. The application service group identifier determining device 302 can determine the application server group identifier for online charging corresponding to the application server combination composed of one or more application servers according to Table 3.

table 3

Specifically, after the second determining means 301 determines that the calling user of the session and the called user invoke the application service provided by the online charging audio server 4a and the video server 4b, the application service group identification determining means 302 needs to be applied according to the application. The identification information of the server audio server 4a and the video server 4b, and Table 1 determine the corresponding application server group identifier. In this embodiment, the session request initiated by the calling user invokes the service provided by the audio server 4a whose application server identification information is 0001 and the video server 4b whose application server identification information is 0010. Therefore, the application service group identifier determining apparatus 302 according to the table 3: Determine that the application server group identifier for charging corresponding to the two online charging application servers is III.

The first price policy determining means 303 then determines a price policy based on the application server group identification III. Specifically, the first price policy determining means 303 determines its corresponding fee calculation rule according to the application server group identifier III, including whether to use a promotion plan, a discount plan, a bonus plan, and the like. Different application server group IDs affect the cost calculation rule. The following is only an example: The billing unit price corresponding to the application service group I identified as I is unit price 1 (that is, the rate is unit price 1, and the billing per minute is Unit price 1), the billing unit price corresponding to the application service group II identified as II is unit price 2 (that is, the rate is the sheep price 2, the billing per minute is the unit price 2), and the application service group III corresponding to the ID III corresponds. The unit price for billing is unit price 3 (that is, the rate is unit price 3, and the billing per minute is unit price 3). These specific cost calculation rules can be set by the network operator according to the specific network operation status, or the first charging device 30 can be automatically adjusted during the operation.

Therefore, the authorization information generating means 304 generates authorization related information of the application service, including authorizing the calling server and the called user to use the application server audio server 4a and the video server 4b requested by the called party and the estimated time length information of the permitted call.

Then, the second authorization information transmitting means 305 transmits the authorization related information to the charging trigger network device 2. After the second authorization information receiving device 204 in the second charging control device 20 receives the authorization related information for the application service from the second authorization information transmitting device 305, the first authorization information transmitting device 205 sends the first authorization information transmitting device 205 to the first charging control device 10. The first authorization information receiving device 104 provides the authorization related information of the application service.

The first authorization information receiving device 104 in the first charging control device 10 receives the authorization related information from the application service of the charging trigger network device 2, that is, allows the calling user and the called user to use the application server audio server 4a and The application service provided by the video server 4b. After being authorized by the online charging subsystem, the application service processing device 105 allows the calling user and the called user to use the authorized application service.

When a session continues for a period of time, the first charging device 30 determines the actual rate (e.g., how much is charged in one minute) when the first charging device 30 terminates the session due to insufficient balance of the charging user account for the session. Money), and based on the actual call duration, determine the actual call charge, and return the message of the end of the session to the calling user and the called user; when a session is terminated by the calling user or the called user, the first charging device 30 Determine the actual rate and determine the actual call cost based on the actual call duration.

In the above embodiment, the second determining means 301 in the first charging device 30 determines that the balance of the online account of the calling user is higher than a predetermined threshold, and authorizes the calling user and the called user to use the requested application service. . In a variant embodiment, the second determining means 301 determines that the balance in the online account of the calling user is insufficient, and the authorization information generating means 304 generates an authorization related information, which includes not allowing the calling user and the called user to use the request. Application services provided by the application server.

Then, the second authorization information transmitting means 305 transmits the authorization related information to the second authorization information receiving means 204.

Further, after the second authorization information receiving device 204 receives the authorization related information about the application service from the second authorization information transmitting device 305, the first authorization information transmitting device 205 provides the authorization related information of the application service to the first meter. The first authorization information receiving device 104 in the fee control device 10, wherein the authorization related information for the application service includes an application service provided by the application server audio server 4a and the video server 4b that the user is not allowed to use the request, and therefore, Session request message is applied to the service The processing device 105 terminates and is not routed by the service processing device 105 to the called user, and therefore, the session cannot be established.

In the above embodiment, the calling user only initiates a session request message. In a modified embodiment, the calling user or the called user may also change the application month requested by the calling user after the session is established. The application user requests the change of the called application monthly service as an example. The case where the called user requests to change the invoked application service during the call is similar to the calling user, and details are not described herein. Still referring to FIG. 4, the detecting means 102 detects whether the called application server has changed, that is, whether the calling user or the called user also requests to call a new application server other than the called audio server 4a and the video server 4b. Either the calling user or the called user requests termination of the called audio server 4a and/or video server 4b.

If the calling user requests to quit the video service and simultaneously invokes a new instant messaging service, the calling user's user equipment sends a session request message to the S-CSCF, including the exit video service and the request to invoke the instant messaging service. The S-CSCF forwards the session request message to the first charging control device 10. The detecting means 102 finds that the application server has changed, including the video server 4b requesting to quit the session, and the instant message server 4c requests to join the session. Then, the second providing device 103 requests the video server 4b whose identification information is 0010 to request to exit the session, and the instant message server 4c whose identification information is 001 1 requests the joining session and the identification information of the session is sent to the charging trigger network device 2.

Then, the second obtaining device 200 acquires the application service related information from the application server of the application service trigger network device 1, that is, the video server 4b that terminates the call identifier information is 0010, and the new request to call the instant message server 4c with the identifier information 001 1 The first judging device 201 judges whether the two application servers need to be charged. The first determining device 201 determines that the video server 4b is an application server that needs to be charged, and is an application server for online charging; the charging triggering network device 2 determines that the instant messaging server is the list of application servers that are charged for internal maintenance. An application server that needs to be billed, and an application server that is offline charging.

The charging request generating means 202 generates an online charging request message according to the video server 4b that terminates the calling identification information is 0010, and invokes the identification information according to the new request. W

The instant message server 4c of 0011 generates an offline charging request message.

The charging request sending means 203 sends the online charging request message to the online charging subsystem 3a via the online charging interface Ro, and transmits the offline charging request message to the offline charging subsystem 3b via the offline charging interface Rf. .

In this embodiment, when an offline charging request message is generated, the charging request sending device 203 immediately sends the offline charging request message to the offline charging subsystem 3b through the Rf interface, and the offline charging message is used. The timing of sending an offline charging request message is only an example. In the actual billing system, the timing of the offline charging request message transmission has relevant provisions in the DIAMETER protocol. For the DIAMTER protocol, refer to http:〃 www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3588.txt. For the Rf interface specification, refer to http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/html-info/32299.htm. The Rf interface supports the offline charging request message based on the DIAMTER protocol. The status of the offline charging request message includes start, interim, stop, and event.

The first charging request receiving device 300 receives the charging request transmitting device separately

203 online charging request message and offline charging request message. In the first charging device 30, a sequence table of all application services called up to one session is maintained, and therefore, the first charging device 30 knows all the application servers that the session has currently called. According to the sequence table, in the application service that requires online charging, the first charging device 30 knows that the session termination call identification information is 0010, and the current session only calls the audio server 4a whose identification information is 0001. The charging device 30 looks up the table 3, and the application service group identifier determining device 302 in the first charging device 30 determines that the application server group identifier corresponding to the server whose identification information is 0001 is L is determined in the first price policy. The device 303 identifies the I according to the application server group.

The first charging device 30 maintains a correspondence table between the application server identification information of the offline charging and the application server group identifier, that is, Table 4. According to Table 4, the off application service group identifier determining means 302 can determine the application server group identifier for billing corresponding to the application server combination composed of one or more offline billing application servers. Table 4

The application service group identifier determining means 302 determines, according to the identification information 0011 of the instant message server 4c, the lookup table 4, and determines that the corresponding application server group identifier for charging is i.

Then, the first price policy determining means 303 determines the price policy based on the application server group identifier i. Specifically, the first price policy determining means 303 determines the corresponding fee calculation rule according to the application server group identifier i, including whether to use the promotion plan, the discount plan, the reward plan, and the like. Different application server group IDs affect the cost calculation rule. The following is only an example: The unit price of the application corresponding to i is the unit price a, and the unit price corresponding to the application service group ii identified as ii For the unit price b, the billing unit price corresponding to the application service group iii identified as iii is the unit price. . These specific cost calculation rules can be set by the network operator according to the specific network operation status, or the charging device 3 can be automatically adjusted during the operation.

For the offline charging application server, since the charging information does not affect the application service provided by the calling user and/or the called user in real time, the second determining device 301 and the authorization information generating device 304 for offline charging And the second authorization information transmitting means 305 can be omitted.

The first price policy determining means 303 also determines a price policy for online charging based on the application server group identifier I of the online charging.

Thereafter, the authorization information generating means 304 and the second authorization information transmitting means 305 repeatedly perform the respective steps, as explained above, and therefore will not be referred to herein. Said.

In the above embodiment, the application service that is detected by the detecting device 102, that is, the application service that is offline charging, also includes the online charging application service; in a modified embodiment, the request is in the initial phase of the session. The newly invoked application service during the call or session only includes the offline charging application service. In this case, in the above embodiment, the second authorization information receiving device 204 in the second charging control device 20, the first authorization information The transmitting device 205 and the second determining device 301, the authorization information generating device 304, and the second authorization information transmitting device 305 of the first charging device 30 may be omitted.

In the foregoing embodiments, when the user is a monthly user or the service charging mode of the application is the number-by-digit charging, the time-related information does not need to be included in the charging request message. In a variant embodiment, the first charging device 30 needs to perform charging according to the calling party's mail, because 'therefore, the first providing device 10^ and the second providing device 103 need to call an application service or When requesting to quit an application service, the time at which the request of the application service is invoked or the time information at which the request is logged out is included in the application service related information provided to the second obtaining device 200.

The time information is also required to be included in the online charging request message or the offline charging request message sent by the charging request transmitting device 203 to the first charging request receiving device 300.

In the above embodiment, when the detecting device 102 detects the application service related to the session, that is, the application service invoked or invoked by the session request changes, the second providing device 103 reports the occurrence to the charging trigger network device 2 Information about application services for changing application services. In a variant embodiment, when the detecting means 102 finds that the application server has changed, including the video server 4b requesting to quit the session, and the instant messaging server 4c requests to join the session, the second providing means 103 is also used to change the The identification information of the application server is provided to the charging trigger network device 2. That is, the second providing means 103 requests the instant messaging server 4c whose identification information is 0001 to remain in the session and the identification information is 001 1 to request the joining session and the identification information of the session to be sent to the second obtaining means 200. Accordingly, the first charging device 30 does not need to maintain a sequence of all application services invoked by a session so far. Table. Instead, the corresponding application group identifier is directly found according to the changed accounting request message of the application server.

In another variant embodiment, the application service group identification determining means 302 may be located in the second charging control means 20, that is, the application service group identification determining means 302 in the second charging control means 20 according to Table 3 or Table 4 determines the application server group identifier corresponding to the combination of one or more application servers that need to be charged, and the charging request message sent by the charging request sending device 203 includes the application service group identification information.

Then, the second charging request receiving device (not shown) receives the charging request message from the charging request sending device 203, where the charging server message already contains the application server group identification information, then the second price The policy determining means (not shown) directly determines the price policy based on the application server group identification information included in the charging request message.

In a variant embodiment, the charging request message sent by the charging request sending device 203 includes the application server group identifier corresponding to the combination of one or more application servers, and the generation time and dissolution of the application server group. time.

In each of the above embodiments, the first charging control device 10 and the second charging control device 20 are integrated in a network device, i.e., a Service Control Interaction Module (SCIM) 6. In a variant embodiment, the first charging control device 10 and the second charging control device 20 may also be located in two separate network devices.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the specific systems, equipment, and specific protocols, and various modifications and changes can be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

Claim

A method for controlling charging in an application service triggering network device of a communication network, comprising the following steps:

a. acquiring application service related information of each of the one or more application services invoked by the session request in one or more application services related to a session, and the session related identification information;

b. providing application service related information of the one or more application services invoked by the request and the session related identification information to the charging trigger network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step b further comprises the following steps:

c. detecting whether one or more application services associated with the session have changed; d. changing if one or more of the one or more application services associated with the session change Application service related information of one or more application services and related identification information of the session are provided to the charging trigger network device.

The method according to claim 1, wherein the step b further comprises the following steps:

c, detecting whether the one or more application services related to the session change; d, changing if one or more application services of the one or more application services related to the session change The application service related information of the one or more application services and the related identification information of the session are provided to the charging trigger network device.

4. Method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, with the session item:

- the session request invokes a new one or more application services;

- The session terminates one or more invoked application services.

The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that Step a also includes the following steps:

Obtaining a session request message of the session, where the session request message includes the requested service related information and the session related identification information;

A2. determining, according to the service related information, multiple application services invoked by the request;

A3. Obtain application service related information of each application service among the multiple application services invoked by the request.

The method according to claim 5, wherein the session request message comprises a session request message based on any one of the following:

- Session knife start agreement;

- Application part of the customized application of enhanced logic;

- ISDN user part;

- CDMA Wireless Intelligent Network Protocol.

The method according to claim 1, wherein the application service comprises one or more online charging application services, and the step b further comprises the following steps:

Receiving authorization related information for the one or more online charging application services from the charging trigger network device;

- correspondingly authorizing or terminating the one or more online charging application services based on the authorization related information of the one or more online charging application services.

The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the application service related information of each application service comprises any one of the following:

- the identification information of the application ^^ service;

- the identification information of the application service and the application service start time or the call termination time;

The application service related to one session includes an application service invoked by the session request and/or an application service that the session has invoked.

A method for controlling charging in a charging trigger network device of a communication network, comprising the steps of: Obtaining, from the application service triggering network device, application service related information of one or more application services of one or more application services related to one session, and the session related identification information;

Determining, according to application service related information of one or more application services of the one or more application services, whether one or more application services of the one or more application services need to be charged;

C. If one or more application services of the one or more application services require charging, generating, according to application service related information of one or more application services that need to be charged, and the session related identification information Fee request message;

D. Send the charging request message to the charging device.

The method according to claim 9, wherein the charging request message includes any one of the following items:

- application service related information of one or more application services that need to be charged, and the session related identification information;

- the plurality of application service group identifiers are pre-stored in the network device, wherein each application group identifier corresponds to an identifier of one or more application services included in the application service group identified by the application service group identifier. The charging request message includes application service group identification information corresponding to the one or more application services that need to be charged.

1 . The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the one or more application services that need to be charged include one or more online charging application services, and the step C further includes:

Generating an online charging request message according to the application service related information of the one or more online charging application services and the session related identification information;

The step D further includes:

Transmitting the online charging request message to the charging device via an online charging interface;

The step D further includes the following steps:

I. receiving authorization related information from the charging device for the one or more online charging application services, wherein the authorization related information is used to determine whether to allow The user uses the one or more online charging application services and time length information of an application service authorized to use the one or more online charging;

II. Initiating, to the application service, the network device to return authorization related information of the one or more online charging application services from the charging system.

The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the one or more application services that need to be charged include one or more offline charging application services, and the step C further includes:

Generating an offline charging request message according to the application service related information of the one or more offline charging application services and the session related identification information;

The step D further includes:

- transmitting the offline charging request message to the charging device via an offline charging interface in accordance with a predetermined rule.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the predetermined rule comprises a DIAMETER protocol.

The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein the application service related information of each application service comprises any one of the following:

- the identification information of the application month;

A method for controlling charging in a charging device of a communication network, wherein: the charging device pre-stores a plurality of application service group identifiers, wherein each application group identifier corresponds to the application service The identifier of one or more application services included in the application service group identified by the group identifier, the method includes the following steps:

Receiving an accounting request message from the charging trigger network device, where the charging request message includes application service related information of one or more application services that need to be charged related to one session, and the session related identification information. ;

P. Application service related information of one or more application services that are charged according to the need Determining an application service group identifier corresponding to the one or more application services that need to be billed;

Q. Determine the price policy based on the application service group identity.

The method according to claim 15, wherein the charging request message includes an online charging request message, where the online charging request message includes one or more online chargings invoked by a session. The application service related information of the application service and the session related identification information; after the step 0, the method further includes:

R, determining, according to the online charging request message, whether the calling or called user of the session is allowed to use the one or more online charging application services;

S. generating authorization related information of the one or more online charging application services, where the authorization related information is used to indicate whether the user is allowed to use the one or more online charging application services and an authorized use office Describe time length information of one or more online charging application services;

T. Sending authorization related information of the one or more online charging application services to the charging trigger network device.

The method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the application service related information of each application service comprises any one of the following items:

- identification information of the application service;

A method for controlling charging in a charging device of a communication network, characterized in that: a plurality of application service group identifiers are pre-stored in the charging device, wherein each application group identifier corresponds to the application service The group identifies the identifier of one or more application services included in the identified application service group, and the method includes the following steps:

Receiving, by the charging triggering network device, an accounting request message, where the charging request message includes application service group identification information corresponding to the one or more application services that need to be charged, and calling the requirement Session of one or more application services Related identification information;

Ρ'. Determine the price strategy based on the application service group identity.

A first charging control apparatus for controlling charging in an application service triggering network device of a communication network, wherein:

a first obtaining means, configured to acquire application service related information of each of the one or more application services invoked by the session request in one or more application services related to a session, and the session related identification information ;

The first providing means is configured to provide the application service related information of the one or more application services requested by the request and the session related identification information to the charging trigger network device.

The first charging control device according to claim 19, wherein the first charging control device further comprises:

Detecting means, configured to detect whether one or more application services related to the session change;

a second providing means, if the one or more application services of the one or more application services related to the session change, the application service related information of the one or more application services that are to be changed, and the The related identification information of the session is provided to the charging trigger network device.

The first charging control apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the detecting means is further configured to detect whether a change of one or more application services related to the session is changed;

The second providing apparatus is further configured to: if the one or more application services of the one or more application services related to the session change, apply information about the application service of the changed one or more application services, and The related identification information of the session is provided to the charging trigger network device.

The first charging control device according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the situation in which the application service state changes includes any one of the following:

- the session request invokes a new one or more application services;

- The session terminates one or more invoked application services.

The first charging control device according to any one of claims 19 to 22, wherein the first acquiring device further comprises:

a session request message obtaining means, configured to acquire a session request message of the session, where the session request message includes the requested service related information and the session related identification information;

An application service determining apparatus, configured to determine, according to the service related information, multiple application services that are requested by the request;

The charging information obtaining means is configured to acquire application service related information of each application service of the plurality of application services invoked by the request.

24. The first charging control apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the session request message comprises a session request message based on any one of:

- Session initiation protocol;

- Application part of the customized application of enhanced logic;

- ISDN user part;

- CDMA Wireless Intelligent Network Protocol.

The first charging control device according to claim 19, wherein the application service comprises one or more online charging application services, and the first charging control device further comprises:

a first authorization information receiving apparatus, configured to receive authorization related information from the charging trigger network device for the one or more online charging application services;

The application service processing device is configured to authorize or terminate the application service of the one or more online subscriptions according to the authorization related information of the one or more online charging application services.

The first charging control device according to any one of claims 19 to 25, wherein the application service related information of each application service comprises any one of the following:

- identification information of the application service;

- the identification information of the application service and the start time or end of the call of the application service Stop time

27. A second charging control apparatus for controlling charging in a charging trigger network device of a communication network, wherein:

a second obtaining device, configured to acquire application service related information, and the session related identification information, from one or more application services of one or more application services related to a session of the application service triggering network device;

a first determining device, configured to determine, according to application service related information of one or more application services of the one or more application services, whether one or more application services in the one or more application services need to be counted Fee

a charging request generating device, configured to: if the one or more application services of the one or more application services require charging, apply service related information of one or more application services that are required to be charged, and the session Related identification information to generate billing request cancellation

The charging request sending device is configured to send the charging request message to the charging device.

The second charging control apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the charging request message includes any one of the following items:

- the plurality of application service group identifiers are pre-stored in the network device, where each application group identifier corresponds to an identifier of one or more application services included in the application group identified by the application service group identifier. The charging request message includes application service group identification information corresponding to the one or more application services that need to be charged.

The second charging control apparatus according to claim 27 or 28, wherein the one or more application services that need to be charged include one or more online charging application services, and the charging request The generating device is also used to:

Generating an online charging request message according to the application service related information of the one or more online charging application services and the session related identification information; The charging request sending device is further configured to:

Sending the online charging request message to the charging device through an online charging interface;

The second charging control device further includes:

a second authorization information receiving device, configured to receive authorization related information from the charging device for the one or more online charging application services, where the authorization related information is used to determine whether to allow the user to use the Determining one or more online charging application services and time length information authorizing the use of the one or more online charging application services;

And a first authorization information sending device, configured to send, to the application service triggering network device, the authorization related information of the one or more online charging application services.

The second charging control apparatus according to claim 27 or 28, wherein the one or more application services that need to be charged include one or more offline charging application services, and the charging request The generating device is also used to:

The charging request sending device is further configured to:

And sending the offline charging request message to the charging device through an offline charging interface according to a predetermined rule.

The second charging control apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the predetermined rule includes a DIAMETER protocol.

The second charging control apparatus according to any one of claims 27 to 31, wherein the application service related information of each application service comprises any one of the following:

- identification information of the application service;

The application service related to one session includes an application service invoked by the session request and/or an application service that has been invoked by the session.

A first charging device for controlling charging in a charging device of a communication network, wherein the charging device pre-stores a plurality of application service group identifiers, wherein each application group identifier corresponds to And identifying, by the application service group, an identifier of one or more application services included in the identified application service group, where the first charging device includes:

The first charging request receiving device is configured to receive an accounting request message from the charging triggering network device, where the charging request message includes an application service related to one or more application services that need to be charged related to one session. Information and the session related identification information;

An application service group identifier determining apparatus, configured to determine, according to the application service related information of the one or more application services that need to be charged, an application service group identifier corresponding to the one or more application services that need to be charged;

The first price policy determining means is configured to determine a price policy according to the application service group identifier.

The first charging device according to claim 33, wherein the charging request message includes an online charging request message, and the online charging request message includes one or more of a session call The application service related information of the online charging application service and the session related identification information; the first charging device further includes: a second determining device, configured to determine, according to the online charging request message, whether the session is allowed The calling or called user uses the one or more online charging application services;

And an authorization information generating apparatus, configured to generate authorization related information of the one or more online charging application services, where the authorization related information is used to indicate whether the user is allowed to use the one or more online charging applications Service and time length information authorized to use the one or more online charging application services;

And a second authorization information sending apparatus, configured to send authorization related information of the one or more online charging application services to the charging trigger network device.

The first charging device according to claim 33 or 34, wherein the application service related information of each application service comprises any one of the following items:

- identification information of the application service; - the identification information of the application service and the application service start time or call termination time;

A second charging device for controlling charging in a charging device of a communication network, wherein a plurality of application service group identifiers are pre-stored in the charging device, wherein each application group identifier corresponds to And the identifier of the one or more application services included in the application service group identified by the application service group identifier, where the second charging device includes:

a second charging request receiving device, configured to receive an accounting request message from the charging triggering network device, where the charging request message includes an application service group corresponding to the one or more application services that need to be charged Identifying information and session-related identification information of the one or more application services that need to be billed;

And a second price policy determining means for determining a price policy according to the application service group identifier.

37. A secondary charging network device for a communication network, characterized by comprising a first charging control device for controlling charging according to any one of claims 19 to 26 and/or 27 to 32 A second charging control device for controlling charging according to any one of the preceding claims.

38. A charging device in a communication network, comprising: a first charging device for controlling charging according to any one of claims 33 to 35 or a method according to claim 36 A second charging device that controls charging.

39. A method for controlling charging between an application service trigger network device, a charging trigger network device, and a charging device in a communication network, where the method includes the following steps: i. the application service triggers network device acquisition Application service related information of each of one or more application services invoked by the session request in one or more application services related to a session, and the session related identification information;

Ii. The application service triggering network device to provide application service related information of the one or more application services invoked by the request and the session related identification information to the charging trigger network device; Iii. The charging triggering network device determines one or more applications of the one or more application services according to the acquired application service related information of one or more application services of the one or more application services. Whether the service needs to be billed;

Iv. if one or more application services of the one or more application services require charging, the charging triggers network device according to application service related information of one or more application services that need to be charged, and the Session related identification information to generate a charging request message;

V. The charging triggering network device sends the charging request message to the charging device, where the charging request message includes an application service related to one session and one or more application services that need to be charged. Relevant information and the session-related identification information; vi. The charging device determines one or more of the required charging according to the acquired application service related information of the one or more application services that need to be charged The application service group identifier corresponding to the application service;

Vii. The charging device resides in the application service group identifier to determine a price policy.

The method according to claim 39, wherein the one or more application services that need to be charged include one or more online charging application services, and the step iv further includes:

- the charging triggering network device generates an online charging request message according to the application service related information of the one or more online charging application services and the session related identification information;

The step V further includes:

- the charging triggering network device sends the online charging request message to the charging device through an online charging interface;

The step V further includes the following steps:

The charging device determines, according to the obtained online charging request message, whether the calling or called user of the session is allowed to use the one or more online charging application services;

The charging device generates authorization related information of the one or more online charging application services, where the authorization related information is used to indicate whether the user is allowed to use The one or more online charging application services and time length information of an application service authorized to use the one or more online charging;

0. The charging device sends the authorization related information of the one or more online charging application services to the charging trigger network device;

The billing triggering network device forwards, to the application service, the network device, the authorization related information of the one or more online charging application services;

The application service triggers the network device to authorize or terminate the application service of the one or more online chargings according to the acquired authorization related information of the one or more online charging application services.