WO2009100669A1

WO2009100669A1 - Charging method, control device, charging device and charging system

Info

Publication number: WO2009100669A1
Application number: PCT/CN2009/070316
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chuanxiang Rong
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2008-02-01
Filing date: 2009-01-24
Publication date: 2009-08-20
Also published as: CN101227302A; CN101227302B

Abstract

A new charging method include: receiving a request for switching the charging mode carrying a new switching charging mode; charging for the service according to the new charging mode and the service resource applied in the new charging mode. A control device, a charging device and a charging system are also provided.

Description

Billing method, control device, billing device and billing system

The present invention relates to communication technologies, and more particularly to a charging method, a control device, a charging device, and a billing system. Background technique

As wireless networks continue to evolve, operators can provide increasingly rich data services to their subscribers. However, at present, operators can only use voice to perform real-time billing, which cannot meet the needs of customers to enjoy rich and diverse multimedia services. Real-time billing for multiple service convergences is more complex than traditional voice accounting.

The charging function in the traditional network is often based on the parallel development of different types of service systems such as voice, data, and multimedia content, resulting in the isolation of billing between services. For example: Online billing and offline billing are handled separately using completely different mechanisms. With the emergence of new types of services, in order to meet the full billing requirements, there may be repeated investment construction of the billing system, which is costly and inefficient, and the billing capabilities of each system are different, and it is difficult to share information with each other. Bundled with business.

As shown in FIG. 1, it is a schematic structural diagram of a convergent charging system in the prior art, which can implement a "content-based charging" function. The convergent charging system can be used as a specific application scenario of various embodiments of the present invention, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the application in this scenario.

The convergent charging system includes an Online Charging System (OCS), a Charging Rules Function (CRF) based on a service data flow, and a Traffic Plane Function (TPF) and an application. Functional entity (Application Server, AF).

The OCS is a billing system with real-time billing function, and the real-time billing function includes prepaid billing.

The TPF is configured to perform a packet filtering function to check content attributes of uplink and downlink data packets of the user terminal. It can be set in the Gateway General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (GGSN). The TPF connects to the OCS through the Gy interface and connects to the CRF through the Gx interface. When the TPF is interconnected with the OCS, the TPF reports and requests the relevant content quota to the OCS according to the attributes of the data transferred by the user terminal.

A service data flow credit management (CC) node for rating is provided between the TPF and the service control point (SCP) in the OCS. The CC node is mainly used to receive the quota requirement for different content sent by the TPF, and converts the credit requirement based on the relative value of the content itself into a quota requirement acceptable to the SCP. In addition, the CC node can also manage and allocate quota resources for different charging policies based on content.

This CRF is mainly used to configure the accounting policy in the TPF. For example, for multimedia (Multimedia Message Service, MMS) streaming by traffic or time. The CRF connects to the AF through the Rx interface. In addition to manually configuring filtering rules, you can also dynamically configure filtering rules for individual services through AF.

After receiving the service data flow, the TPF determines the credit control request (CCR) to trigger the traffic/sub-accounting (CCR) to the OCS according to the charging policy corresponding to the service data flow, so that the OCC can charge the service. .

In the process of implementing the present invention, the inventors have found that at least the existing convergent charging system has the following problems:

According to the existing CRF, for one session, charging can only be performed according to one charging method. However, with the development and maturity of the mobile Internet, the services transmitted through wireless media are diversifying. The new generation of Internet charging solutions will inevitably require the network system to make application services for user terminals to send and receive on mobile systems. Differentiating and recording, a single billing method can no longer meet the billing needs of the mobile Internet. Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present invention provide a charging method, a control device, a charging device, and a charging system that flexibly support different types of charging modes. A charging method includes: receiving a charging mode switching request, where the charging mode switching request carries a charging mode that is requested to be switched;

And calculating, according to the charging mode that the request is switched to and the service resource actually used in the charging mode, the service fee in the charging mode that is requested to be switched, so as to facilitate charging the service.

A control device comprising:

a service processing module, configured to receive and forward a service request, and process the service according to the service request;

The first monitoring module is configured to: when the service processing module processes the service, monitor and process the service resource actually used by the service according to two or more charging modes, and use the completed service resource or receive the ending service. When requesting, report the service resources actually used under various charging methods and various charging methods.

A charging device comprising:

The first transceiver module is configured to receive a service request, deliver the service resource, and receive the service resource actually used in various charging modes and various charging modes;

a calculation module, configured to calculate a service fee according to various charging modes received by the first transceiver module and service resources actually used in various charging modes;

a comparison module, configured to compare a size of a service fee amount in various charging modes calculated by the charging module;

The first charging module is configured to charge the service according to one of the service charges in various charging modes according to the comparison result of the comparison module and the preset setting.

A control device comprising:

a second monitoring module, configured to: when the service resource that is delivered for the service is received, instruct the service processing module to process the service, and perform a handover request according to the received charging mode, and process the service processing module During the service, the monitoring is performed according to a corresponding charging manner in different time periods. The service processing module processes the service resources actually used by the service, and reports the service resources corresponding to the various charging modes and the various charging modes when the delivered service resources are used or the service request is received.

A charging device comprising:

The second transceiver module is configured to receive a service request, and send the service resource, and receive the charging mode in different time segments and the service resource actually used in the various charging modes;

a calculation module, configured to calculate a service cost in each time period according to the charging mode in different time periods received by the second transceiver module and the service resources actually used in the various charging modes; And summing the service expenses in each time period calculated by the calculation module;

The second charging module is configured to charge the service according to the summation result obtained by the summation module.

A billing system comprising a control device and a billing device;

The control device is configured to receive a charging mode switching request and forward the charging mode switching request to the charging device, where the charging mode switching request carries a charging mode that is requested to be switched, and receives the charging mode. The device processes the service request according to the service resource delivered by the charging mode that is requested to be switched, and monitors the service resource actually used by the service request in the charging mode that the request is switched to, and sends the service resource to the service request. The charging device;

The charging device is configured to receive a charging mode switching request forwarded by the control device, and switch the request to the charging mode and the service resource actually used in the charging mode according to the charging mode, and calculate the request. The service fee in the charging mode switched to facilitate the charging of the service.

In the embodiment of the present invention, in the process of using the service, the charging mode switching request is initiated before the service is used or when the service is used, and the charging mode is requested to be switched, and the control device switches the request according to the charging mode, and monitors the corresponding charging mode. The used service resource is reported to the charging device, and the charging device calculates the service fee in the charging mode that is requested to be switched, so as to be preset according to various charging methods and various charging methods used according to the service processing process. The corresponding business resources used, For billing, you can switch between billing modes to implement flexible billing for services. DRAWINGS

1 is a schematic structural diagram of a prior art convergence charging system;

2 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a charging system according to the present invention;

3 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a charging method according to the present invention;

4 is a flow chart of another embodiment of a charging method according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of still another embodiment of a charging method according to the present invention; FIG.

6 is a schematic structural view of an embodiment of a control device according to the present invention;

7 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a charging apparatus according to the present invention;

8 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of a charging system according to the present invention;

Figure 9 is a schematic structural view of another embodiment of the control device of the present invention;

10 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of a charging apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of still another embodiment of a charging system according to the present invention. detailed description

In an embodiment of the present invention, the user terminal may send a charging mode switching request for switching the charging mode to the network side in the process of using the service, or may send the charging mode switching to the network side before the service starts or when the service starts. request. In other words, the network side may receive the charging mode switching request sent by the user terminal, and carry the charging mode information that is requested to be switched, and then according to the process of providing the service to the user terminal, providing the service, or providing the service. The charging mode that is requested to be switched to and the service resource actually used in the charging mode are calculated, and the service fee in the charging mode that is requested to be switched is calculated, so as to charge the service. Specifically, the service resource used in the service processing process may be charged by using a preset charging mode and/or a charging mode requested to be switched. The charging mode that is requested to be switched to may also be referred to as a new charging mode, and the preset charging mode may also be referred to as an old charging mode. In an embodiment, when the user terminal sends a charging mode switching request to the network side before the service starts or when the service starts, the network side may charge the service in different manners according to the preset rules:

For example, the current service is charged according to the new charging mode that the user terminal recently requested to switch to and the service resource actually used in the new charging mode. The new charging method for requesting the last handover is the charging mode that the user terminal requests to switch to in the chronological order.

For another example, the service fee in the charging mode is calculated according to the charging method preset in the network side and the service resource used in the preset charging mode. At the same time, the service charges under various new charging modes are calculated according to various new charging methods requested by the user terminal and service resources used in the corresponding charging mode. According to the pre-set, the service is charged for the business expense with a smaller or larger amount in the calculated cost calculation result.

In another example, the content of the charging mode switching request is: After the service starts, that is, the charging mode is preset in the first time period from the start of the service processing, after the first time period In the second time period, a new charging mode is used, and another new charging mode is used for charging in the third time period after the second time period. The network side calculates the fee in the first time period according to the preset charging mode and the service resource used in the charging mode; according to the new charging mode used in the second time period and the new charging mode Calculating the fee in the second time period according to the service resource used; calculating the fee in the third time period according to the new charging mode used in the third time period and the service resource used in the new charging mode; And charging the current service according to the sum of the first time period, the second time period and the third time period.

In the foregoing specific examples, the preset charging method and the new charging method may be charging methods according to time or traffic, but are not limited to the two charging methods.

Referring to FIG. 2, it is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a charging system according to the present invention. The billing system includes a billing device and a control device. The system can perform any of the foregoing charging methods during the application process. The billing system includes a billing device 01 that can communicate with the control device 02.

The charging device 01 is configured to receive a charging mode switching request forwarded by the control device 02, where the meter The fee mode switching request carries the charging mode to which the request is handed over; the charging mode that is switched to the request and the service resource actually used in the charging mode, and the service in the charging mode that the request is switched to is calculated. Cost, in order to charge the business.

The control device 02 is configured to receive a charging mode switching request and forward the charging mode switching request to the charging device, where the charging mode switching request carries a charging mode that is requested to be switched, and receives the charging mode. The device processes the service request according to the service resource delivered by the charging mode that is requested to be switched, and processes the service resource actually used by the service request in the charging mode to which the request is switched, and reports the service resource to the meter. Fee device 01.

For the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, in the application, different charging modes can be obtained according to the situation, and the following are several specific charging devices.

For example, the charging device 01 is further configured to: charge the service according to the calculated service fee in the charging mode that the request is switched to. That is to say, the charging device charges the service according to the charging method that the last received request is switched.

For example, the charging device 01 is further configured to: calculate a service fee of the service in a preset charging mode according to a preset charging mode and a service resource actually used in the preset charging mode; The service is charged by selecting one of the service charges in the preset charging mode and one of the service charges in the charging mode to which the request is switched. For example, a smaller or larger service charge can be selected based on a prioritized setting to bill the service, thereby making it more flexible to implement different billing requirements.

For example, the charging device 01 is further configured to: when the step of receiving a charging mode switching request is performed after the step of receiving a service request, according to the preset charging mode and the preset charging The service resource actually used in the mode, the service fee in the preset charging mode before receiving the charging mode switching request is calculated; the service fee and the request according to the preset charging mode The sum of the service charges in the switched mode, and the service is charged. That is to say, before and after receiving the charging switching request, different charging methods are used to calculate the service fee, and then the service charging is performed. For example, the charging apparatus 01 is further configured to: when the step of receiving the charging mode switching request is before or at the same time of the step of receiving a service request, and the charging mode switching request carries a charging method used in the first time period when the service processing starts, a charging method used in the first time period, a second time period after the first time period, and a charging method used in the second time period, according to Calculating the service fee in the first time period according to the charging mode in the first time period and the service resource actually used in the charging mode; and calculating the charging method according to the second time period Calculating the service cost in the second time period according to the service resource actually used in the fee mode; and calculating the sum of the service fee in the first time period and the service fee in the second time period, The service performs charging.

Optionally, the system may further include a user terminal 03, configured to send a service request and a service charging mode switching request. Optionally, the system may further include a management device 04, configured to receive a service request sent by the user and a service charging mode switching request, and forward the request to the control device 02.

In another embodiment, when the user terminal sends the charging mode switching request in the process of using the service, the network side may charge the service in different manners according to the preset rules:

For example, the current service is charged according to the charging mode that the user terminal recently requested to switch to and the service resource actually used in the charging mode. Since the other charging methods used in the last requested charging mode of this service are different from the charging method of the latest request, the charging method of the last request and the other charging methods are used for other charging methods. The service charges calculated by the service resources used may be different. This requires the difference between the service charges calculated by the most recently requested charging method and other charging methods for the service resources used in other charging modes. The cost of replenishment or replenishment.

For another example, the service fee in the preset charging mode is calculated according to the charging method preset in the network side and the service resource used in the charging mode. At the same time, the service charges under various new charging modes are calculated according to various new charging methods requested by the user terminal and service resources used in the corresponding charging mode. According to the pre-set and cost calculation results, the calculated amount is used. Small or large business expenses are charged for this business. The same as the previous charging method, since the charging method used in the final charging may be different from the charging method calculated by the other charging methods for the corresponding used service resources in other charging modes, it is also required to be based on the latest request. The charging method and other charging methods perform corresponding cost replenishment or replenishment on the difference of the service cost calculated by the service resources used in the corresponding charging mode. The other charging method is a charging method other than the charging method used in the final charging, and may be a charging method preset by the network side or a new charging method requested by the user terminal.

In each of the foregoing specific examples, the preset charging method and the new charging method may be charging methods according to time charging or charging according to traffic, but are not limited to the two charging methods.

In another embodiment, the user terminal sends a charging mode switching request to the network side control device before the service starts, or when the service starts, that is, when the service request is sent, and requests to switch the preset charging mode to the new meter. In the fee mode, the charging mode switching request carries a new charging mode that is requested to be switched. The control device receives the charging mode switching request and forwards the charging mode switching request to the charging device. The charging device modifies the preset charging mode to the new charging mode. Then, when the charging device processes the service request initiated by the user terminal, the charging device may deliver the corresponding service resource according to the new charging mode, and use the new charging mode as the preset charging mode, and the user terminal The requested service is billed.

In addition, if the user terminal sends a charging mode switching request to the control device before the service starts or when the service starts, requesting to perform charging according to the new charging mode, the control device may not forward the charging mode switching request to the charging device. Instead, the service resources used by the service are monitored simultaneously according to the preset charging mode and the new charging mode that the request is switched to.

As shown in FIG. 3, it is a flowchart of an embodiment of the charging method of the present invention. In this embodiment, the method includes:

Step 100: The control device receives the service request and the charging mode switching request sent by the user terminal, and forwards the service request to the charging device, where the charging mode switching request carries the new charging mode that the request is switched to. For convenience of explanation, a pre-set billing party for the service is assumed in this embodiment. The method is to charge according to time, and the new charging method is to charge according to traffic.

Step 101: The charging device receives a service request sent by the control device.

The requested service may be various types of service requests, such as: session call service, data download service, intelligent network service, multimedia service, and the like. The above services are merely examples and are not to be considered as limiting the embodiments. Among them, intelligent network services such as: call center, telephone hotline, telephone voting

Step 102: After the charging device receives the service request sent by the control device, the charging device sends the service resource corresponding to the charging mode to the control device, for example, the service resource delivered by the charging mode according to the time charging. For the duration, the service resource delivered in the charging mode based on the traffic is traffic.

Step 103: After receiving the service resource, the control device processes the service according to the service request, and monitors the service resource used in the process of processing the service under the preset charging mode and the new charging mode requested by the user terminal.

Specifically, in the step 103, the control device monitors the service resources according to the duration and the traffic in the process of processing the service.

Step 104: In the process of processing the service, when the service resource delivered by the charging device is used, or when receiving the end service request sent by the user terminal, the control device sends the report information to the charging device, where the user terminal is carried. The business resources actually used in this business. This business resource has instant information and traffic information.

Step 105: The charging device calculates the cost of the service according to the service resource (time and traffic) actually used by the user terminal in the current service, and uses the calculated fee to be smaller or smaller according to the preset rule. A large fee is charged for this business. If the cost of the current service calculated according to the duration and the flow rate is the same, the charging calculation result is directly performed.

Step 106: The charging device deducts a corresponding fee from the user account according to the charging result.

In a complete service process, the charging device sends the service resource to the control device multiple times, and after each used service resource is used, according to the preset charging mode (according to If the charging result under the time charging method is deducted, if the charging is finally determined by the charging method according to the traffic, the traffic is determined according to the current service. The consumed traffic is different from the calculated service cost. The last time the fee is deducted from the user account, it needs to be calculated according to the charging method based on the traffic and the charging method according to the time. The difference between the business expense and the fee deducted from the user account, the user account is replenished with the corresponding amount or the corresponding amount is replenished from the user account.

For example, if the preset rule is to select a smaller service charge for charging, the foregoing step 106 specifically includes: when the charging method calculated according to the time charging method is greater than the charging according to the traffic When calculating the service cost in the charging mode, calculate the difference between the current service cost calculated in the time charging mode and the current service cost calculated in the traffic accounting mode, and replenish the difference to the user account. The amount. When the service cost calculated in the charging mode according to the time-based charging is smaller than the service cost calculated in the charging mode based on the traffic, the current calculation is performed according to the charging mode. The difference between the service charge and the current service charge calculated under the time-based charging mode, and the amount of the difference is replenished from the user account.

As shown in FIG. 4, it is a flowchart of another embodiment of the charging method of the present invention. In another implementation manner, if the user terminal initiates a charging mode switching request to the control device in the process of using the service, the method includes:

Step 201: The charging device receives a service request sent by the control device.

Step 202: After the charging device receives the service request sent by the control device, the charging device sends the service resource corresponding to the various charging modes to the control device.

The above steps 201, 202 are similar to steps 101, 102, and thus will not be described again.

The difference from the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is that step 203 is: after receiving the service resource, the control device processes the service according to the service request, and in various charging modes, includes the charging mode preset in the charging device and other Support various charging methods to monitor business resources.

In a more specific example, the charging method supported by the charging device includes charging according to time. The charging method and the charging method according to the traffic, wherein the pre-set charging method for the service is charging according to time, and in the step 203, the controlling device processes the service at the same time Monitor by time or flow. After the step 203, the method further includes the step 204: the control device receives, in the process of processing the service, the charging mode switching request sent by the user terminal, and requests the charging mode to be switched to the charging mode according to the traffic, the charging mode. The handover request carries a new charging method that performs charging according to traffic.

If, in the process of the service processing, the user terminal proposes the multiple charging mode switching request, in step 205, when the resource used by the processing service reaches the delivered service resource, or the end service request sent by the user terminal is received The control device sends the advertisement information to the charging device, where the service resource information actually used in the charging mode that the user terminal recently requested to switch to is carried;

In step 206, the charging device performs charging according to the charging mode that the last request is switched to and the service resource actually used in the charging mode. Similarly, in a complete service process, the charging device sends the service resource to the control device multiple times, and after each used service resource is used, the charging result obtained according to the preset charging mode is performed. In the case of deduction, if the final charging method is different from the pre-set charging method, the difference between the current service cost calculated in the two charging modes and the The fee deducted from the user account, the user account is replenished with the corresponding amount or the corresponding amount is replenished from the user account.

In another embodiment, if the control device receives the charging mode switching request sent by the user terminal before the service starts or starts the service, and requests to switch the preset charging mode to the new charging mode, the control device may The billing method is reported to the billing device. Correspondingly, the charging device delivers the pre-set charging mode and the service resource corresponding to the new charging mode to the control device, and the subsequent process can be processed by referring to steps 104-106.

Optionally, referring to FIG. 3, in the foregoing embodiments, the user terminal may specifically send a charging mode switching request to the control device by using the management device. In addition, the charging mode switching request may also carry a preset charging mode. An embodiment of changing the charging mode in the session call service is given below. As shown in FIG. 5, it is a flowchart of still another embodiment of the charging method of the present invention. This embodiment takes the session call service as an example, but is obviously not limited to the session call service. It includes the following steps:

Step 301: The user initiates a session call request to the control device by using the user terminal.

Step 302: The control device forwards the session call request to the charging device.

Step 303: The charging device receives the session call request sent by the control device, and obtains the charging mode information corresponding to the session call request, and sends the pre-set service resource to the control device according to the charging mode.

For example, the charging method is based on time, and the service resource corresponding to the charging method based on time is the duration of the call, for example: 15 minutes. For example, if the charging method is to perform charging according to data traffic, the service resource here may be data traffic, for example: 15M.

Step 304: After receiving the service resource delivered by the charging device, the control device performs monitoring processing on the session call request.

Specifically, according to the called party end user identifier carried in the session call request, the session call is connected to the called party terminal, and when the called party terminal goes off-hook, the session call is within the range of the delivered service resource. The business resources used by the business are monitored.

For example, after the charging method is performed according to the charging method in step 303, the control device monitors the session call request after receiving the length of the call sent by the charging device. According to the called party end user identifier carried in the session call request, the session call is connected to the called party terminal, and when the called party terminal goes off-hook, within the 15-minute call duration, the session call service is used. The length of time is monitored.

Step 305: In the process of the session call service, the user terminal sends a charging mode switching request to the management device, where the charging mode switching request carries a preset charging mode and a new charging mode to which the request is switched.

In this embodiment, when the voice data traffic is low, the user terminal sends a charging mode switching request to the management device, where the charging mode switching request carries a preset time-based calculation. The billing method of the fee, and the request to switch to the new billing method according to the data flow meter fee.

In other embodiments, the threshold of the unit voice data traffic may also be preset. When the unit voice data traffic is less than the threshold, the user terminal automatically sends a charging mode switching request to the management device, or the management device prompts the user terminal to initiate charging. Mode switch request.

Step 306: The management device receives the charging mode switching request sent by the user terminal.

Step 307: The management device forwards the charging mode switching request to the control device.

In other embodiments, the management device may not be required, but the user terminal directly sends a charging mode switching request to the control device.

In addition, in the case of preset threshold of the unit voice data traffic, when the unit voice data traffic is less than the threshold, the management device may directly initiate the charging mode switching request to the control device without performing steps 305-306.

Step 308: After receiving the charging mode switching request forwarded by the management device, the control device records the actual service resource used by the user terminal in the charging mode, and in the subsequent service processing process, in the charging mode according to the new charging mode. Monitor the actual service resources used by the user terminal.

In this embodiment, after receiving the charging mode switching request forwarded by the management device, the control device may record the actual call duration of the user terminal in the charging mode according to the time charging, and start monitoring the subsequent service processing process. The actual data traffic used by the user terminal in the charging mode according to the data flow rate.

Step 309: When the service on the user terminal uses the service resource delivered by the charging device, the control device reports the report information carrying the service use resource information and the charging mode switching information to the charging device. The service usage resource information includes the pre-switched service resource actually used by the user terminal and the actually used switched service resource. The charging mode switching information includes a new charging mode after switching.

In the present embodiment, the control device may carry the report information of the service usage resource information and the charging mode switching information to the charging device when the duration of the call on the user terminal reaches the delivered call duration of 15 minutes. The service usage resource information is the actual call duration information of the user terminal. Actual data traffic information on the user terminal. The charging mode switching information includes a new charging method for charging according to data traffic after switching.

Step 310: The charging device calculates the part of the service fee according to the service resource and the charging mode actually used by the user terminal before the handover, and calculates the service cost of the part according to the service resource and the charging mode actually used by the user terminal after the handover, and The foregoing two parts are summed, and the session call service is charged according to the sum value.

In this embodiment, the charging device may calculate the service fee in the charging mode according to the time according to the actual call duration of the user terminal, and calculate the charging according to the traffic according to the actual data traffic on the user terminal. The service cost in the mode, and sums the two, and charges the session call service.

Step 311: The charging device deducts a corresponding fee from the user's account according to the charging result. Step 312: The charging device determines, according to the report information, whether the user ends the session call service. If not, step 313 is performed; otherwise, step 318 is performed.

Step 313: The charging device sends a new service resource, for example: 15M, to the control device according to the new charging mode. In the present embodiment, the charging device can follow the charging method of the data flow meter.

Step 314: The control device receives the new service resource delivered by the charging device, and monitors the data traffic transmitted between the calling party terminal and the called party terminal according to the new service resource. In this embodiment, after receiving the 15M data traffic delivered by the charging device, the control device monitors the data traffic transmitted between the calling party terminal and the called party terminal according to the 15M data traffic.

Step 315: In the process of monitoring the session call service, the control device determines whether the charging mode switching request information sent by the user through the user terminal is received. If not, the process proceeds to step 316; otherwise, step 317 is performed.

Step 316: Perform a subsequent charging process by using a charging method according to the new service resource for charging. In this embodiment, the new service resource is data traffic.

Step 317: Step 205 is performed according to the data flow rate as a preset charging mode, and the user selects the charging mode to be switched by the user terminal as the new charging mode. Step 318, ending the session call service flow.

In the above-mentioned process shown in FIG. 5, corresponding to step 309, if the duration of the call on the user terminal of the control device has not reached the delivered 15-minute call, the end of the end session call service sent by the user through the user terminal is received. The call service request reports the report information carrying the service use resource information and the charging mode switching information to the charging device, where the charging mode switching information includes the new charging mode after the switching, that is, charging according to the data traffic. . The service usage resource information is specifically the actual call duration information of the user terminal and the actual data traffic information on the user terminal. Steps 310 and 311, the charging device performs the session according to the actual data duration information of the user terminal according to the charging method according to the time charging, and the actual data traffic information of the user terminal according to the charging method according to the data flow rate. After the call service performs charging, and deducts the corresponding fee from the user's account, the session call service flow is ended.

It can be seen from the foregoing embodiments that the charging methods of the embodiments of the present invention include the following steps: receiving a charging mode switching request, where the charging mode switching request carries a charging mode that is requested to be switched; The charging method and the service resource actually used in the charging mode calculate the service fee in the charging mode requested to be switched, so as to facilitate charging the service.

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural view of an embodiment of a control device according to the present invention. The control device includes a service processing module 11 and a first monitoring module 12.

The service processing module 11 is configured to receive a service request sent by the user terminal, forward the service request to the charging device, and process the service according to the service request. The first monitoring module 12 is configured to receive the service resource that is sent by the charging device for the service, and instruct the service processing module 11 to process the service, and monitor the service resource actually used in the service process according to various charging modes, and send the service resource. When the service resource is used or the service request is received, the charging device reports various charging methods and service resources actually used in various charging modes. In this embodiment, the charging method may be a charging method that performs charging by time or traffic.

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a charging apparatus according to the present invention. The charging device includes a first transceiver module 21, a calculation module 22, a comparison module 23, and a first accounting module 24. The first transceiver module 21 is configured to receive the service request forwarded by the service processing module 11 in the control device, and send the service resource to the first monitoring module 12 in the control device, and receive the various reports reported by the first monitoring module 12. The billing method and the service resources actually used under various billing methods. The calculation module 22 is configured to calculate a service fee according to various charging methods received by the transceiver module and service resources actually used in various charging modes. The comparison module 23 is configured to compare the size of the service fee amount in various charging modes calculated by the charging module. The first charging module 24 is configured to perform charging on the service according to one of the service charges in various charging modes according to the comparison result of the comparison module 23 and the preset setting, for example, selecting a service with a larger amount or a smaller amount. The fee is charged for the service.

In addition, the charging apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 may further include a charging module 25 for deducting the corresponding service fee from the user account using the service according to the charging result of the first charging module 24.

Further, the charge module 25 can include a calculation unit 251 and a charge unit 252. The calculating unit 251 is configured to calculate a difference between the charging result of the first charging module 24 and the deduction of the fee from the user account. The deduction unit 252 is configured to deduct the corresponding service fee from the user account using the service according to the charging result of the first charging module 24, and replenish or debit from the user account according to the difference calculated by the calculating unit 251. The user account replenishes the cost of the difference.

The charging system of each embodiment provided by the present invention includes a control device la and a charging device 2a, which can be used to implement corresponding operations of the control device and the charging device in the above embodiments of the present invention. The control device 1a is configured to receive the charging mode switching request and forward the charging mode switching request to the charging device 2a, where the charging mode switching request carries the charging mode requested to be switched, and the receiving charging device is configured according to The service resource that is sent by the charging mode is requested to be processed, and the service request is processed, and the service resource actually used by the service request is processed and reported to the charging device 2a. The charging device 2a is configured to receive the charging mode switching request forwarded by the control device 1a, and calculate the charging mode that is requested to be switched according to the charging mode switched to the charging mode switching request and the service resource actually used in the charging mode. The business expenses below, in order to charge the business.

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the charging system according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the control device uses the control device of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, and the charging device 2a uses FIG. 7. A charging device of any of the illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of a control device according to the present invention. The control device of the embodiment includes a service processing module 11 and a second monitoring module 13. The service processing module 11 is configured to receive a service request sent by the user terminal, forward the service request to the charging device, and process the service according to the service request.

The second monitoring module 13 is configured to: when receiving the service resource that is sent by the charging device for the service, instruct the service processing module 11 to process the service, and switch the request according to the received charging mode, in the service processing module. When the service is processed, the service resource that the service processing module 11 actually uses when processing the service is monitored according to the corresponding charging mode in different time periods. When the delivered service resource is used or the service request is terminated, The charging device reports various charging methods and service resources actually used under various charging modes. The charging method may be a charging method that is charged by time or traffic. As shown in FIG. 10, it is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of a charging apparatus according to the present invention. The charging apparatus of this embodiment includes a second transceiver module 26, a computing module 22, a summing module 27, and a second charging module 28. The second transceiver module 26 is configured to receive the service request forwarded by the service processing module 11 in the control device, and send the service resource to the second monitoring module 13 in the control device, and receive the different report reported by the second monitoring module 13 The charging method in the time period and the service resources actually used in various charging modes. The calculation module 22 is configured to calculate the service fee in each time period according to the charging mode in different time periods received by the second transceiver module 26 and the service resources actually used in the various charging modes. The summation module 27 is configured to sum the service charges in each time period calculated by the calculation module 22. The second charging module 28 charges the service according to the summation result obtained by the summation module 27.

In addition, the charging device shown in FIG. 10 may further include

The deduction module 25 is configured to deduct the corresponding service fee from the user account using the service according to the charging result of the second charging module 28.

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of still another embodiment of the charging system of the present invention. The control device in this embodiment uses the control device of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, and the charging device can use FIG. A charging device of any of the embodiments shown.

Further, the charging system of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 11 may further include a management device, connected to the control device, configured to receive a charging mode switching request of the service sent by the user terminal, and forward the request to the control device; Whether the service is being performed on the user terminal, if yes, the new charging mode is recorded and the charging time switch request is sent to the control device, and if not, the charging mode switching request is directly forwarded to the charging device, and the request is calculated. The fee device modifies the charging mode of the service set in advance to a new charging mode.

In the foregoing embodiments of the present invention, the charging device may be an SCP or an OCS, and the control device may be a GGSN or a Common Communications Gateway (CCG) or a Content Security Gateway (CSG) or mobile data. Management Data Platform (MDSP); The management device may specifically be a Customer Care Center (CCC) or a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or a Service Management Access Point (Service Management Access Point). SMAP )„

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the user terminal uses the service, the user terminal initiates the charging mode switching request before using the service, and the control device processes the resource used by the service to reach the delivered service resource. Or, when receiving the end service request for ending the service, reporting, to the charging device, various charging methods used in the current service and service resources corresponding to the various charging methods, and the charging device according to the pre-determination Setting and various charging methods and service resources actually used in the corresponding charging mode, charging the service, implementing the charging mode, for example: switching between charging methods according to data traffic or duration, Thereby achieving flexible billing of services.

The device embodiments and system embodiments described above are merely illustrative, wherein the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as the cells may or may not be physical units. , that is, it can be located in one place, or it can be distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs. The purpose of implementing the solution of this embodiment is achieved. Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand and implement without deliberate labor.

Through the above description of various device implementations, system implementations, or method implementations, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the various implementations can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course, by hardware. . Based on such understanding, the above-described technical solutions may be embodied in the form of software products in essence or in the form of software products, which may be stored in a computer readable storage medium such as ROM/RAM, magnetic Discs, optical discs, etc., include instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform the methods described in various embodiments or portions of the embodiments. It should be noted that the above embodiments are merely illustrative of the technical solutions of the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will understand that the invention may be modified or equivalently substituted without departing from the teachings of the present invention. The spirit and scope of the programme.

Claims

Rights request

A charging method, characterized in that it comprises:

Receiving a charging mode switching request, where the charging mode switching request carries a charging mode that is requested to be switched to;

The charging method according to claim 1, wherein before the charging the service, the method further includes:

Receiving a business request;

After receiving the service request and the charging mode switching request, the service resource is delivered according to the charging mode that the request is switched to.

The charging method according to claim 2, wherein the receiving the service request further comprises: delivering the service resource according to the preset charging mode.

The charging method according to claim 3, further comprising: calculating, according to a preset charging mode and a service resource actually used in the preset charging mode, that the service is preset Business expenses under the billing method;

The charging the service includes: selecting one of the service fee in the preset charging mode and one of the service charges in the charging mode to which the request is switched to charge the service.

The charging method according to claim 2, wherein the charging the service comprises:

Charging the service according to the service fee in the charging mode that the request is switched to.

The charging method according to claim 2, wherein the step of receiving a service request is before the step of receiving a charging mode switching request;

The method further includes: calculating, according to the preset charging mode and the service resource actually used in the preset charging mode, the preset charging mode before receiving the charging mode switching request Business expenses; The charging the service includes: a sum of a service fee in the preset charging mode and a service fee in the charging mode to which the request is switched after receiving the charging mode switching request, Billing the service.

The charging method according to claim 2, wherein the step of receiving a service request is after or at the same time as the step of receiving the charging mode switching request;

The charging mode switching request carries a first time period starting from the service processing time and a charging mode used in the first time period, a second time period after the first time period, and the second time The charging method used during the time period;

And calculating, according to the charging mode that the request is switched to and the service resource that is actually used in the charging mode, the service cost in the charging mode that is requested to be switched to: according to the calculation in the first time period Calculating the service fee in the first time period according to the fee mode and the service resource actually used in the charging mode; according to the charging mode in the second time period and the service resource actually used in the charging mode, Calculating the service fee in the second period of time;

The step of charging the service includes: charging the service according to the calculated sum of the service fee in the first time period and the service fee in the second time period.

The charging method according to any one of claims 2 to 7, further comprising: receiving service resources in various charging modes delivered according to the service request;

Processing the service according to the service request, and monitoring service resources actually used by the service in various charging modes;

When the service resources are delivered or the service request is received, the service resources that are actually used in various charging modes and various charging modes are reported.

9. A control device, comprising:

a first monitoring module, configured to: when the service processing module processes the service, monitor and process a service resource actually used by the service according to two or more charging modes, and send the service resource in the service When the service request is completed or received, the service resources actually used under various charging methods and various charging modes are reported.

10. A charging device, comprising:

a comparison module, configured to compare a size of a service fee amount in various charging modes calculated by the computing module;

The charging device according to claim 10, further comprising:

And a debiting module, configured to deduct a corresponding service fee from a user account that uses the service according to the charging result of the first charging module.

The charging device according to claim 11, wherein the charging module comprises: a calculating unit, configured to calculate a charging result of the first charging module and deducting a fee from the user account Difference

a debiting unit, configured to deduct a corresponding service fee from a user account that uses the service according to the charging result of the first charging module, and calculate a difference according to the calculating unit, from the user account Replenishing or reimbursing the user account for the difference.

13. A control device, comprising:

14. A charging device, comprising:

The charging device according to claim 14, further comprising:

And a debiting module, configured to deduct a corresponding service fee from a user account that uses the service according to the charging result of the second charging module.

16. A billing system, comprising: a control device and a billing device;

The charging system according to claim 16, wherein the charging device is further configured to: And charging the service according to the calculated service fee in the charging mode that the request is switched to.

18. The charging system according to claim 17, wherein the charging device is further used to:

Calculating the service fee of the service in a preset charging mode according to a preset charging mode and a service resource actually used in the preset charging mode;

The service is charged by selecting one of the service charges in the preset charging mode and one of the service charges in the charging mode to which the request is switched.

19. The billing system of claim 18, wherein said billing means is further for:

Receiving a service request before receiving the charging mode switching request, and calculating, according to the preset charging mode and the service resource actually used in the preset charging mode, before receiving the charging mode switching request The service charge in the preset charging mode; charging the service according to the sum of the service fee in the preset charging mode and the service fee in the charging mode to which the request is switched .

20. The billing system of claim 18, wherein said billing means is further for:

Receiving a service request after receiving the charging mode switching request or receiving the charging mode switching request, where the charging mode switching request carries a first time period from a service processing time a charging method used in the first time period, a second time period after the first time period, and a charging method used in the second time period;

Calculating the service fee in the first time period according to the charging mode in the first time period and the service resource actually used in the charging mode; and according to the charging mode in the second time period The service resource actually used in the charging mode, calculating the service fee in the second time period; and calculating the sum of the service cost in the first time period and the service cost in the second time period, Billing the service.