An online charging method, apparatus, device, and storage medium

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides an online charging method, device, equipment and storage medium, the method comprises the following steps: an online charging device receives an online charging request message sent by a charging network element; the online charging request message carries identification information of a user; according to the identification information of the user carried in the online charging request message, pre-set authorization information of the user is acquired; the authorization information of the user is information of a service quota; the authorization information is sent to the charging network element, so that the charging network element controls service use of the user according to the authorization information. In this way, after receiving the online charging request, the online charging device can directly acquire the pre-set authorization information of the user, thereby avoiding frequent authentication timeout when the online charging request surges, affecting the service perception of the user to the data flow service, and improving the authorization efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of mobile communication technology, and more specifically to an online billing method, apparatus, device, and storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, mobile communication technology is undergoing a massive transformation. 5G (5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology) is a new generation of broadband mobile communication technology characterized by high speed, low latency, and massive connectivity, serving as the network infrastructure for realizing the interconnection of humans, machines, and things. With the widespread adoption of 5G networks, the number of 5G users and the volume of 5G services are rising rapidly, posing significant challenges to operators' online billing services. In the 4G network architecture, the data service core network and the online billing system constitute the existing online billing system. When a user initiates a data traffic service request, the request message reaches the data service core network via the wireless transmission network. After receiving the request, the network elements of the data service core network send an online billing request to the online billing system. Upon receiving the request, the online billing system completes authentication and returns an authorization result, which includes the amount of data traffic allowed. The data service core network then controls user behavior based on this authorization result. To ensure a smooth user experience for data traffic services, operator specifications require that the two-way interaction between the data service core network and the online billing system be completed within 200 milliseconds.

[0003] However, in 4G network deployment, the core data network and service support billing system are deployed within the same city or even at the same location, resulting in relatively fast transmission of service requests. In 5G network deployment, however, the 5G data core network adopts a centralized deployment across large regions. For example, assuming provinces A and B are in the same region, and a user's home region is province A, but the 5G data core network is deployed in province B, the user must undergo at least two cross-provincial data transmissions from initiating a service request to the online billing system completing authentication and returning the authorization result. This increases network latency by approximately 20 milliseconds. Furthermore, 5G deployment introduces the requirement for nationwide roaming online billing processing. The ultra-long-distance transmission further increases the latency of the online billing system, leading to increased pressure on its service request processing capabilities.

[0004] In existing technologies, the authorization process of online billing systems is complex, involving multiple core processes such as online billing control, billing calculation, and credit control management to generate an authentication result. The online billing system then feeds this result back to the data core network to complete the service authentication process. Due to the large number of modules involved in the entire service authentication process, and the explosive growth in the number of 5G traffic users and traffic volume, the online billing system frequently times out during authentication. This makes it impossible to guarantee the completion of bidirectional interaction between the data service core network and the online billing system within 200 milliseconds, directly impacting users' service perception of 5G data traffic services. This has become a pressing issue that needs to be addressed. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, this application provides an online billing method, apparatus, device, and storage medium to solve the problem that the authorization process of existing online billing systems is complex, leading to frequent authentication timeouts when business requests surge, which affects users' service perception of data traffic services.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide an online billing method, including:

[0007] The online billing device receives online billing request messages sent by the billing network element; the online billing request message carries the user's identification information;

[0008] Based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message, obtain the user's pre-set authorization information; the user's authorization information is the user's service quota information;

[0009] The authorization information is sent to the billing network element so that the billing network element can control the user's service usage based on the authorization information.

[0010] Preferably, obtaining the pre-set authorization information of the user based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message includes:

[0011] Within a first preset time threshold, based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message, the smart authorization device obtains the first authorization information that has been preset, and uses the first authorization information as the user's authorization information; the first authorization information is the service quota information that the smart authorization device has preset for the user.

[0012] Preferably, obtaining the pre-set authorization information of the user based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message includes:

[0013] If the first authorization information is not obtained within the first preset time threshold, the second authorization information is obtained within the second preset time threshold, and the second authorization information is used as the user's authorization information; the second authorization information is the user's stored historical authorization information.

[0014] Preferably, obtaining the pre-set authorization information of the user based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message includes:

[0015] If the second authorization information is not obtained within the second preset time threshold, then the pre-set third authorization information is obtained and used as the user's authorization information; the third authorization information is the information of the pre-set service quota.

[0016] Preferably, the method further includes:

[0017] Update the stored historical authorization information of the user based on the obtained authorization information of the user.

[0018] Preferably, before obtaining the pre-set authorization information of the user based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message, the method further includes:

[0019] Based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message, determine whether the user is a special user;

[0020] The step of obtaining the pre-set authorization information of the user according to the online billing request message includes:

[0021] If the user is determined to be a special user, then third authorization information is obtained and used as the user's authorization information.

[0022] Preferably, the method further includes:

[0023] Based on the authorization information, first online billing information is generated and saved; the first online billing information includes at least the user's identification information and service quota information;

[0024] Based on the user's identification information in the first online billing information, obtain the detailed bill generation rules for the user;

[0025] According to the user's detailed billing generation rules, at least one second online billing information is obtained from the saved first online billing information, and user detailed billing information is generated and saved based on the at least one second online billing information. The second online billing information is the first online billing information in the saved first online billing information that has not generated user detailed billing information.

[0026] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide an online billing device, comprising:

[0027] The receiving unit is used to receive online billing request messages sent by the billing network element; the online billing request message carries the user's identification information;

[0028] The acquisition unit is used to acquire the pre-set authorization information of the user based on the online billing request message; the user's authorization information is the user's service quota information;

[0029] The processing unit is used to send the authorization information to the billing network element so that the billing network element can control the user's service usage based on the authorization information.

[0030] Preferably, the acquisition unit is specifically used to acquire, within a first preset time threshold, the first authorization information preset in the intelligent authorization device according to the online billing request message, and use the first authorization information as the user's authorization information; the first authorization information is the service quota information preset for the user by the intelligent authorization device.

[0031] Preferably, the acquisition unit is specifically used to acquire second authorization information within a second preset time threshold if the first authorization information is not acquired within a first preset time threshold, and use the second authorization information as the user's authorization information; the second authorization information is the user's stored historical authorization information.

[0032] Preferably, the acquisition unit is specifically used to acquire a pre-set third authorization information if the second authorization information is not acquired within a second preset time threshold, and use the third authorization information as the user's authorization information; the third authorization information is information on a pre-set service quota.

[0033] Preferably, the processing unit is further configured to determine whether the user is a special user based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message;

[0034] The acquisition unit is further configured to, if it is determined that the user is a special user, acquire third authorization information and use the third authorization information as the user's authorization information.

[0035] Preferably, the processing unit is further configured to generate and save first online billing information based on the authorization information; the first online billing information includes at least the user's identification information and service quota information;

[0036] The acquisition unit is further configured to acquire the user's detailed bill generation rules based on the user's identification information in the first online billing information;

[0037] The acquisition unit is further configured to acquire at least one second online billing information from the saved first online billing information according to the user's detailed bill generation rules, generate user detailed bill information according to the at least one second online billing information, and save it, wherein the second online billing information is the first online billing information from the saved first online billing information that has not generated user detailed bill information.

[0038] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide an electronic device, including:

[0039] A processor and a memory, the memory storing a computer program that, when executed, causes the electronic device to perform the method described in any of the first aspects above.

[0040] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a storage medium including a stored program, wherein the program, when running, controls the device where the storage medium is located to execute the method described in any one of the first aspects.

[0041] The online billing method, using the solution provided in this application embodiment, includes: an online billing device receiving an online billing request message sent by a billing network element, wherein the online billing request message carries user identification information; obtaining pre-set user authorization information based on the user identification information carried in the online billing request message, wherein the authorization information is user service quota information; and sending the authorization information to the billing network element so that the billing network element can control the user's service usage based on the authorization information. When a user sends a service request message to the billing network element through a user terminal, the billing network element generates an online billing request message based on the service request message. At this time, the online billing device receives the online billing request message sent by the billing network element, and can obtain the pre-set user authorization information based on the user identification information carried in the online billing request message, and then sends the obtained user authorization information to the billing network element, thereby enabling the billing network element to control the user's service usage based on the authorization information. This allows for the pre-configuration of service quotas for users. When the online billing device receives an online billing request message from the billing network element, it can directly obtain the pre-set user authorization information based on the user's identifier carried in the online billing request message, and send the obtained user authorization information to the billing network element. This eliminates the need for complex processing of multiple core processes such as online billing control and credit control management after receiving the online billing request before generating authorization information and returning it to the billing network element. This avoids frequent authentication timeouts during surges in online billing requests, which negatively impacts users' service perception of data traffic services, thus improving authorization efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0042] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0043] Figure 1 A flowchart illustrating an online billing method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0044] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating another online billing method provided in this application embodiment;

[0045] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an online billing device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0046] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0047] To better understand the technical solution of this application, the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0048] It should be understood that the described embodiments are merely some, not all, of the embodiments in this application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments in this application without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0049] The terminology used in the embodiments of this application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of this application. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” used in the embodiments of this application and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0050] It should be understood that the term "and / or" used in this article is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0051] Before providing a detailed description of the embodiments of this application, the terms used or possibly used in the embodiments of this application will first be explained.

[0052] Credit control is a feature designed to help users manage their phone bills. It assigns a credit score based on the user's spending habits and chosen service plan, allowing for flexible spending management. Users can spend freely within their credit score; when spending approaches the credit score, the system will send an SMS reminder; and when the bill exceeds the credit score, the user's service will be suspended due to credit control.

[0053] Data Service Core Network: Mobile communication networks typically consist of three parts: the access network, the bearer network, and the core network. The core network is the most crucial part of the entire network. As the control center of the entire network, the core network's role and functions are extremely vast and complex—all user data is stored in the core network; all user permissions are controlled by the core network; the core network is responsible for all user power-on, power-off, and shutdown processes; calls between users are handled by the core network; and users ultimately connect to the Internet through the core network when using data services.

[0054] BOSS (Business & Operation Support System): For customers, it presents a unified solution; for telecom operators, it integrates the Business Support System (BSS) and the Operation Support System (OSS), forming a comprehensive business operation and management platform. It is also a truly integrated management platform that combines traditional IP data services with mobile value-added services. OSS / BSS is an integrated, information-resource-sharing support system for telecom operators. It mainly consists of network management, system management, billing, sales, accounting, and customer service components, organically integrated through a unified information bus. It not only helps operators develop operation support systems tailored to their specific needs and determine the system's development direction, but also helps users establish system integration standards, improving and enhancing user service levels.

[0055] Centralized regional deployment: Centralized regional deployment is in contrast to provincial deployment. In current telecommunications networks (physical equipment), each province has its own independent data center, independent hardware and software, BOSS, etc. Resources between provinces are completely independent, and both hardware and software are maintained independently by province. Centralized regional deployment refers to the centralized deployment and operation and maintenance of network equipment from multiple provinces within a single region, providing network services to all users in that region. Generally, within a regional data center, service-oriented network elements, data management network elements, control plane network elements, and user plane network elements that are not sensitive to latency are centrally deployed.

[0056] Gateway: Also known as an internetwork connector or protocol converter. A gateway implements network interconnection above the network layer. It is a complex network interconnection device used only for interconnecting two networks with different high-level protocols. Gateways can be used for both wide area network (WAN) and local area network (LAN) interconnection. A gateway is a computer system or device that acts as a translator. Used between two systems with different communication protocols, data formats, languages, or even completely different architectures, a gateway is a translator. Unlike a bridge, which simply forwards information, a gateway repackages received information to suit the needs of the destination system.

[0057] CPE (Customer Premise Equipment): Essentially, it's a mobile signal access device that receives mobile signals and relays them as Wi-Fi signals. CPEs can convert high-speed 4G / 5G signals into Wi-Fi signals and support a relatively large number of mobile devices accessing the internet simultaneously. CPEs are widely used in rural areas, towns, hospitals, offices, factories, and residential communities, providing wireless network access, saving on broadband costs and eliminating the need for cabling.

[0058] OCS (Online Charging System): refers to a billing system that participates in the control of the communication process. It is a convergence of online billing systems and can solve problems such as real-time credit control for users, prepaid use of data services, and real-time billing of value-added services.

[0059] In related technologies, under 4G network architecture, the data service core network and the online billing system constitute the existing online billing system. When a user initiates a data traffic service request, the request message travels through the wireless transmission network to the data service core network. Upon receiving the request, the network elements of the data service core network send an online billing request to the online billing system. The online billing system, upon receiving the request, completes authentication and returns an authorization result, which includes the amount of data traffic allowed. The data service core network then controls user behavior based on this authorization result. To ensure a smooth user experience with data traffic services, operator specifications require that the bidirectional interaction between the data service core network and the online billing system be completed within 200 milliseconds.

[0060] However, in 4G network deployment, the core data network and service support billing system are deployed within the same city or even at the same location, resulting in relatively fast transmission of service requests. In 5G network deployment, however, the 5G data core network adopts a centralized deployment across large regions. For example, assuming provinces A and B are in the same region, and a user's home region is province A, but the 5G data core network is deployed in province B, the user must undergo at least two cross-provincial data transmissions from initiating a service request to the online billing system completing authentication and returning the authorization result. This increases network latency by approximately 20 milliseconds. Furthermore, 5G deployment introduces the requirement for nationwide roaming online billing processing. The ultra-long-distance transmission further increases the latency of the online billing system, leading to increased pressure on its service request processing capabilities.

[0061] In existing technologies, the authorization process of online billing systems is complex, involving multiple core processes such as online billing control, billing calculation, and credit control management to generate an authentication result. The online billing system then feeds this result back to the data core network to complete the service authentication process. Due to the large number of modules involved in the entire service authentication process, and the explosive growth in the number of 5G traffic users and traffic volume, the online billing system frequently times out during authentication. This makes it impossible to guarantee the completion of bidirectional interaction between the data service core network and the online billing system within 200 milliseconds, directly impacting users' service perception of 5G data traffic services. This has become a pressing issue that needs to be addressed.

[0062] To address the aforementioned problems, embodiments of this application provide an online billing method, apparatus, device, and storage medium. The online billing method includes: an online billing device receiving an online billing request message sent by a billing network element, wherein the online billing request message carries user identification information; obtaining pre-set user authorization information based on the user identification information carried in the online billing request message, wherein the authorization information is user service quota information; and sending the authorization information to the billing network element so that the billing network element can control the user's service usage based on the authorization information. When a user sends a service request message to the billing network element through a user terminal, the billing network element generates an online billing request message based on the service request message. At this time, the online billing device receives the online billing request message sent by the billing network element, and based on the user identification information carried in the online billing request message, can obtain the pre-set user authorization information, and then send the obtained user authorization information to the billing network element, thereby enabling the billing network element to control the user's service usage based on the authorization information. This allows for the pre-configuration of service quotas for users. When the online billing device receives an online billing request message from the billing network element, it can directly obtain the pre-set user authorization information based on the user's identifier carried in the online billing request message, and send the obtained user authorization information to the billing network element. This eliminates the need for complex processing of multiple core processes such as online billing control and credit control management after receiving the online billing request before generating authorization information and returning it to the billing network element. This avoids frequent authentication timeouts during surges in online billing requests, which negatively impacts users' service perception of data traffic services, thus improving authorization efficiency.

[0063] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating an online billing method provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 1 As shown, the specific steps of the online billing method are as follows:

[0064] Step S101: The online billing device receives the online billing request message sent by the billing network element.

[0065] The online billing request message contains the user's identification information.

[0066] In this embodiment, when a user uses data traffic services through a user terminal, the user terminal sends a service request message to the billing network element. This service request message carries the user's identification information. Upon receiving the service request message, the billing network element needs to obtain the user's authorization information and control the user's use of data traffic services based on this information. At this time, the billing network element can generate an online billing request message based on the service request message and send it to the online billing device to obtain the user's authorization information. The online billing device receives the online billing request message.

[0067] Step S102: Obtain the pre-set user authorization information based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message.

[0068] Among them, the user's authorization information is the user's business quota information.

[0069] Specifically, in existing technologies, after receiving an online billing request, the online billing device needs to perform a series of complex operations, including online billing and credit control management, before generating authorization information and returning it to the billing network element. However, when the number of online billing requests increases significantly, the online billing device cannot process the large number of requests in a timely manner, resulting in the inability to generate authorization information for each user online. This causes user service requests to switch from online billing to offline billing. Offline billing requires a significant amount of time to generate user authorization information and return it to the billing network element, which affects the user's perception of data traffic services. Therefore, to ensure that the online billing device can promptly return user authorization information to the billing network element after receiving an online billing request, the authorization information for each user can be pre-set. In this way, after receiving an online billing request message, the online billing device can obtain the pre-set user authorization information based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message. The user's authorization information is the user's service quota information, i.e., the amount of data traffic services the user can use.

[0070] Based on this, as a possible implementation, obtaining the pre-set authorization information of the user based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message includes:

[0071] Within a first preset time threshold, based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message, the device obtains the pre-set first authorization information and uses the first authorization information as the user's authorization information.

[0072] The first authorization information is the business quota information that the intelligent authorization device pre-sets for the user.

[0073] Specifically, the intelligent authorization device can set corresponding primary authorization information for each user based on their relevant attribute information. For example, assuming the intelligent authorization device sets corresponding primary authorization information for a user based on their age and subscribed data traffic plan, and assuming the initial service quota is 500MB, the weighting for a user's age (0-17 years old) is 0.2, for 18-40 years old it is 0.5, for 41-60 years old it is 0.4, and for users over 60 years old it is 0.2; the weighting for a user's data traffic plan (0-20GB / month) is 0.2, for a data traffic plan (21-60GB / month) it is 0.3, and for a data traffic plan exceeding 60GB / month it is 0.5. Assuming user 1's identification information is A, age is 26, and subscribed to a 30GB / month data plan, when the smart authorization device sets the first authorization information for user 1 with identification information A, it determines the user's corresponding weight to be 0.8 based on user 1's identification information A, age 26, and subscribed data plan of 30GB / month. Then, based on the initial service quota of 500MB, it determines the user's service quota to be 400MB. Of course, the user's relevant attribute information can also be other information, such as the user's data service usage time, the user's remaining data plan information, and the user's data service usage history information, etc., and the weight corresponding to each user's attribute information can be set according to actual needs. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0074] In this way, when the online billing device receives an online billing request, it can retrieve the first authorization information from the smart authorization device within a first preset time threshold, based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message. At this time, the online billing device can send a first authorization information retrieval request message to the smart authorization device, wherein the first authorization information retrieval request message carries the user's identification information. After receiving the first authorization information retrieval request message, the smart authorization device can send the service quota information pre-set for that user to the online billing device based on the user's identification information carried in the first authorization information retrieval request message, and the online billing device receives the first authorization information. Alternatively, the online billing device can access the smart authorization device and retrieve the user's first authorization information from the smart authorization device based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message.

[0075] However, due to issues such as the smart authorization device not having pre-set the user's first authorization information or network transmission delays, the online billing device may be unable to obtain the first authorization information from the smart authorization device within the first time threshold. To ensure that the online billing device can obtain the user's authorization information, when it cannot obtain the first authorization information from the smart authorization device, the online billing device may use the stored historical authorization information of the user as the user's authorization information. In this case, as a possible implementation, obtaining the pre-set user authorization information based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message includes:

[0076] If the first authorization information is not obtained within the first preset time threshold, the second authorization information is obtained within the second preset time threshold and used as the user's authorization information.

[0077] The second authorization information is the stored historical authorization information of the user.

[0078] Specifically, to improve users' service perception of data traffic services, it is necessary to ensure that the interaction between the online billing device and the billing network element is completed within a third time threshold. That is, the online billing device needs to successfully obtain the user's authorization information within the third time threshold and return it to the billing network element. Due to issues such as the smart authorization device not having pre-set user authorization information or transmission delays, the online billing device may not be able to obtain the first authorization information from the smart authorization device within the first time threshold. Therefore, if the first authorization information is not obtained within the first preset time threshold, to ensure that the online billing device can successfully return the user's authorization information to the billing network element, the online billing device can use the user's most recent historical authorization information stored in memory as the user's authorization information. In this case, the online billing device obtains the second authorization information, i.e., the user's most recent historical authorization information stored in memory, within the second preset time threshold. The second authorization information can be stored in memory or other storage media; this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0079] Because there may be issues such as the user's second authorization information not being stored, causing the online billing device to be unable to obtain the user's second authorization information, to further ensure that the online billing device can successfully obtain the authorization information within a third time threshold and return the authorization information to the billing network element, the online billing device pre-sets third authorization information. When the online billing device cannot obtain the second authorization information within the second time threshold, it directly determines the third authorization information as the user's authorization information. Based on this, as a possible implementation, obtaining the pre-set user authorization information based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message includes:

[0080] If the second authorization information is not obtained within the second preset time threshold, the third authorization information is obtained and used as the user's authorization information. The third authorization information is the information of the preset business quota.

[0081] Specifically, since there may be cases where the user's second authorization information is not stored, or the number of online billing request messages is too large, the online billing device may not be able to process them in time, resulting in the failure to obtain the second authorization information within the second time threshold. Therefore, in order to ensure that the online billing device can successfully obtain the user's authorization information within the third time threshold and return the authorization information to the billing network element, the online billing device can pre-set the third authorization information. If the online billing device fails to obtain the second authorization information within the second preset time threshold, it will obtain the third authorization information and use the third authorization information as the user's authorization information.

[0082] It should be noted that the third authorization information is information on the pre-set business quotas for all users. In other words, the third authorization information is the same for all users. The third authorization information can be pre-set according to actual needs, and this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0083] It should be noted that the sum of the first and second preset time thresholds is less than the third time threshold. For example, it is stipulated that the interaction between the online billing device and the billing network element is completed within the third time threshold, where the third time threshold is 200ms. The third time threshold can also be other values, and this application does not restrict them. Then, the first preset time threshold can be set to 100ms and the second preset time threshold to 50ms. Of course, the first and second preset time thresholds can also be other values, and this application does not restrict them. When the first preset time threshold is 100ms and the second preset time threshold is 50ms, after receiving the online billing request message, the online billing device obtains the first authorization information from the intelligent authorization device within 100ms. If the first authorization information is not obtained within 100ms, the second authorization information is obtained from memory or other storage media within 50ms. If the second authorization information is still not obtained within 50ms, in order to ensure that the online billing device can successfully return authorization information to the billing network element, the online billing device directly obtains the third authorization information, such as the user's service quota of 500MB.

[0084] Step S103: Send authorization information to the billing network element so that the billing network element can control the user's service usage based on the authorization information.

[0085] Specifically, after the online billing device obtains the authorization information, it sends the authorization information to the billing network element so that the billing network element can control the user's service usage based on the received authorization information.

[0086] In this way, after receiving an online billing request from the billing network element, the online billing device obtains the pre-set user authorization information based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message, and then returns it to the billing network element, which can then control the user's service usage. However, in existing technology, after receiving an online billing request, the online billing device first performs online billing, billing calculation, and credit control management, and then performs authentication based on the results of the above processes. The online billing and billing calculation modules require access to a large amount of external data, consuming significant resources. When service requests surge, there is a risk of being unable to process a large number of online billing requests in a timely manner, leading to timeouts in obtaining authorization information and preventing the online billing device from successfully obtaining the authorization information, thus affecting the user's use of data traffic services. Therefore, according to the online billing method provided in this application embodiment, the online billing device can obtain the user's authorization information in a shorter time after receiving the online billing request, improving data processing efficiency. Furthermore, through multi-level authorization, even during peak online billing request periods, the online billing device can successfully obtain the user's authorization information within the specified third time threshold range and return it to the billing network element, further improving the user service experience.

[0087] Figure 2 Another online billing method provided in the embodiments of this application, such as Figure 2 As shown, the specific steps of the online billing method are as follows:

[0088] Step S201: The online billing device receives the online billing request message sent by the billing network element.

[0089] For details, please refer to step S201 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0090] Step S202: Determine whether the user is a special user based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message.

[0091] Among them, special users are those who use data traffic services in large quantities and have low credit control risk (low risk of overdue payment). For example, special users can be those who use data traffic services through mobile data cards (internet cards) or customer premise equipment (CPE).

[0092] Specifically, due to the extremely high data traffic consumption of special users, billing network elements frequently receive service request messages from these users via their client terminals. If these service request messages were also billed online, it would place a significant burden on the online billing system's data processing. Therefore, in existing 4G networks, to alleviate the data processing pressure on the online billing system, service requests from special users are billed offline. This means that after receiving a service request message from a special user, the billing network element obtains authorization information offline and does not send an online billing request to the online billing device to obtain authorization information. However, in 5G networks, because the network speeds offered by 5G are significantly higher than those of 4G networks, and obtaining authorization information offline takes a considerable amount of time, continuing to use offline billing for special users would negatively impact users' perception of 5G data traffic services. Therefore, in this application, the online billing device can pre-store the identification information of special users. After receiving a user's service request message, the billing network element does not need to switch the special user's service request to offline processing. It can directly generate an online billing request message based on the user's service request message and send the online billing request message to the online billing device. The online billing device can determine whether the user is a special user based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message and the pre-stored user identification information. If the user is determined to be a special user, step S203 is executed; if the user is determined not to be a special user, step S204 is executed.

[0093] Step S203: If the user is determined to be a special user, obtain the third authorization information, use the third authorization information as the user's authorization information, and send the user's authorization information to the billing network element.

[0094] Specifically, if a user is identified as a special user, since special users consume a large amount of data traffic, there is no need to set corresponding authorization information for them through smart authorization. To further save authorization time, the pre-set third authorization information can be directly used as the user's authorization information. In other words, if a user is identified as a special user, the third authorization information is directly obtained and sent to the billing network element so that the billing network element can control the user's service usage based on the third authorization information.

[0095] For example, suppose the online billing device pre-sets special user identification information: user 2's identification information B, user 3's identification information C, and pre-sets the third authorization information to 500MB. Suppose user 2 sends a service request message to the billing network element through a client. The billing network element then generates a corresponding online billing request message and sends it to the online billing device. This online billing request message carries user 2's identification information B. The online billing device receives the online billing request message and, based on the user 2's identification information B carried in it, checks if the stored special user identification information contains identification information B. Since the online billing device pre-sets the special user identification information: user 2's identification information B, user 3's identification information C, the online billing device can determine that this user is a special user, directly obtain the third authorization information, use the third authorization information as the user's authorization information, and return the authorization information to the billing network element.

[0096] Step S204: If it is determined that the user is not a special user, then based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message, obtain the pre-set user authorization information and send the user's authorization information to the billing network element.

[0097] For details, please refer to steps S102 and S103, which will not be repeated here.

[0098] Step S205: Update the stored historical authorization information of the user based on the obtained user authorization information.

[0099] Specifically, after obtaining the user's authorization information, the online billing device can update the user's historical authorization information stored in memory or other storage media based on the obtained user authorization information, so that the online billing device can obtain the user's most recent historical authorization information in the future.

[0100] Step S206: Generate user detailed bill information based on the user's authorization information and save it.

[0101] Specifically, to enable users to view detailed information about their data traffic usage through a client application, the online billing device can generate first online billing information based on authorization information. Then, based on this first online billing information, it generates and saves detailed user billing information. This allows users to query the detailed user billing information through their client application when they need to inquire about their data traffic usage details. The detailed user billing information includes at least the user's identification information and service quota information; of course, it may also include other information, which this application does not limit.

[0102] Furthermore, if user detailed billing information is generated for each online billing request message after obtaining authorization information, the number of user detailed billing information will be enormous, leading to significant data storage pressure. Therefore, it is advisable to consider merging user detailed billing information to reduce the number of user detailed billing information and thus alleviate storage pressure. Further, since users have different sensitivities to user detailed billing information—that is, some users may not need to check detailed billing information frequently, while others may frequently check detailed billing information through the user client—when merging user detailed billing information, different rules can be used to generate user detailed billing information for each user. For example, based on relevant user attribute information, corresponding detailed billing generation rules can be pre-set for each user, and detailed billing information can be generated according to these rules. This reduces the number of user detailed billing information while meeting the needs of different users for user detailed billing information. Based on this, as a possible implementation, the online billing method also includes:

[0103] Based on the authorization information, generate and save the first online billing information; the first online billing information includes at least the user's identification information and service quota information.

[0104] Based on the user's identification information in the first online billing information, obtain the user's detailed bill generation rules.

[0105] According to the user's detailed billing generation rules, at least one second online billing information is obtained from the saved first online billing information, and user detailed billing information is generated and saved based on the at least one second online billing information.

[0106] The second online billing information is the first online billing information that has not generated user detailed billing information in the first online billing information that has been saved.

[0107] In this embodiment, after obtaining the authorization information, the online billing device returns the authorization information to the billing network element. At this time, the online billing device also needs to generate first online billing information based on the authorization information. The first online billing information includes at least the user's identification information and service quota information, used to record the user's service usage information, and the first online billing information is saved. For example, the first online billing information can be saved in memory or other storage media; this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0108] If the online billing device were to generate and store user detailed billing information every time it generated the first online billing information, the storage space occupied by a large number of user detailed billing records would be enormous. Furthermore, some users are not particularly sensitive to detailed billing information, meaning they rarely view their detailed billing information through their client. Therefore, for users who are not highly sensitive to detailed billing information, the online billing device does not need to generate and store detailed billing information every time it generates the first online billing information. Instead, it sets specific detailed billing rules for each user and generates detailed billing information according to those rules.

[0109] Based on this, online billing devices can pre-use intelligent algorithms, such as big data and machine learning, to intelligently generate a user's sensitivity to detailed bill information based on relevant user attribute information, such as the user's subscribed data traffic plan information and the frequency with which the user views detailed bill information. This sensitivity is then used to determine the corresponding detailed bill generation rules. Since different users may have different sensitivities to detailed bill information, the detailed bill generation rules may also differ. Furthermore, because a user's sensitivity to detailed bill information adjusts according to changes in their relevant attribute information, the detailed bill generation rules will also be adjusted accordingly. For example, assuming the online billing device intelligently sets the user's sensitivity to detailed bill information to between 1 and 100, the online billing device can generate the user's sensitivity to detailed bill information based on the user's relevant attribute information. For users with a sensitivity of 0-30, the detailed bill generation rule could be to generate detailed bill information every 10 minutes; for users with a sensitivity of 31-70, the rule could be to generate detailed bill information every 5 minutes; and for users with a sensitivity of 71-100, the rule could be to generate detailed bill information every 1 minute. Then, after generating the first online billing information, the online billing device can obtain the user's detailed bill generation rule based on the user's identifier information in the first online billing information. Based on the user's detailed bill generation rule, at least one second online billing information (i.e., the first online billing information in which no user detailed bill information has been generated) can be obtained from the saved first online billing information. The system generates and saves user billing details based on at least one second online billing information, so that users can view these details through their client applications. For example, the user billing details can be stored in memory or other storage media.

[0110] For example, assuming the online billing device intelligently generates a user's sensitivity to detailed bill information between 1 and 100, the online billing device can generate the user's sensitivity to detailed bill information based on the user's relevant attribute information. For users with a sensitivity of 0-30, the corresponding detailed bill generation rule could be to generate detailed bill information every 10 minutes; for users with a sensitivity of 31-70, the corresponding rule could be to generate detailed bill information every 5 minutes; and for users with a sensitivity of 71-100, the corresponding rule could be to generate detailed bill information every 1 minute. Assuming the user's identifier is D, and the online billing device pre-generates user D's sensitivity to detailed bill information, for example, if user D's sensitivity to detailed bill information is 80, then the corresponding detailed bill generation rule would be to generate detailed bill information every 1 minute. The online billing device receives an online billing request message from the billing network element. This message carries the user's identification information, D. Within a first preset time threshold, the online billing device accesses the intelligent authorization device based on the user's identification information D and obtains the user's first authorization information, for example, 500MB. Then, based on the obtained first authorization information, the online billing device generates first online billing information, which includes at least the user's identification information D and the service quota information of 500MB. This first online billing information is then stored in memory. At this point, the online billing device can obtain the user's detailed billing generation rule based on the user's identification information D, i.e., generating detailed billing information every minute. If less than one minute has passed since the last generation of detailed billing information for user D, the online billing device will not generate detailed billing information for the user. The online billing device continues to receive online billing request messages from the billing network element, each carrying the user's identification information D. Based on this information, the online billing device accesses the intelligent authorization device and obtains the user's first authorization information, i.e., 500MB. The online billing device then generates first online billing information based on the obtained first authorization information. This first online billing information includes at least the user's identification information D and a service quota of 500MB. The first online billing information is then stored in memory. At this point, the online billing device can obtain the user's detailed billing rules based on the user's identification information D, i.e., generate the user's detailed billing information every minute.Assuming that one minute has passed since the last generation of user D's detailed billing information, the online billing device can determine that user detailed billing information needs to be generated at this time. It retrieves at least one online billing information from the saved first online billing information. Assuming that at least one online billing information includes the two first online billing information mentioned above, then user D's detailed billing information can be generated based on the two first online billing information. User D's detailed billing information includes at least the fact that user D used 1000MB of data traffic within that one minute.

[0111] In this way, the online billing device can determine the corresponding detailed bill generation rules for each user based on their different sensitivities to detailed bill information, thereby achieving personalized merging of user detailed bills, meeting the different requirements of different users for detailed bill information, eliminating the use of the same rules to generate detailed bills for all users, and significantly reducing the amount of detailed bills for each user, thus alleviating the storage pressure on the system.

[0112] Corresponding to the above embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown in the illustration, this application also provides an online billing device, including:

[0113] The receiving unit 301 is used to receive online billing request messages sent by the billing network element. The online billing request message carries the user's identification information.

[0114] The acquisition unit 302 is used to obtain pre-set user authorization information based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message. The user's authorization information is the user's service quota information.

[0115] The processing unit 303 is used to send authorization information to the billing network element so that the billing network element can control the user's service usage based on the authorization information.

[0116] As one possible implementation, the acquisition unit 302 is specifically used to, within a first preset time threshold, acquire pre-set first authorization information from the intelligent authorization device based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message, and use the first authorization information as the user's authorization information. The first authorization information is information about the service quota pre-set for the user by the intelligent authorization device.

[0117] As one possible implementation, the acquisition unit 302 is specifically used to acquire second authorization information within a second preset time threshold if the first authorization information is not acquired within a first preset time threshold, and use the second authorization information as the user's authorization information. The second authorization information is the user's stored historical authorization information.

[0118] As one possible implementation, the acquisition unit 302 is specifically used to acquire pre-set third authorization information if the second authorization information is not acquired within a second preset time threshold, and use the third authorization information as the user's authorization information. The third authorization information is pre-set service quota information.

[0119] As one possible implementation, the processing unit 303 is also used to determine whether the user is a special user based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message.

[0120] The acquisition unit 302 is also used to acquire third authorization information if it is determined that the user is a special user, and use the third authorization information as the user's authorization information.

[0121] As one possible implementation, processing unit 303 is also configured to generate and save first online billing information based on authorization information. The first online billing information includes at least the user's identification information and service quota information.

[0122] The acquisition unit 302 is also used to acquire the user's detailed bill generation rules based on the user's identification information in the first online billing information.

[0123] The acquisition unit 302 is further configured to, according to the user's detailed billing generation rules, acquire at least one second online billing information from the saved first online billing information, generate user detailed billing information based on the at least one second online billing information, and save it. The second online billing information is the first online billing information from the saved first online billing information for which no user detailed billing information has been generated.

[0124] Corresponding to the above embodiments, this application also provides an electronic device. Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 400 may include a processor 401, a memory 402, and a communication unit 403. These components communicate through one or more buses. Those skilled in the art will understand that the structure of the server shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the embodiment of the present invention. It may be a bus topology or a star topology, and may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements.

[0125] The communication unit 403 is used to establish a communication channel, enabling the electronic device to communicate with other devices. It can receive user data sent by other devices or send user data to other devices.

[0126] The processor 401 serves as the control center of the electronic device, connecting various parts of the device via various interfaces and lines. It executes software programs and / or modules stored in the memory 402, and calls data stored in the memory to perform various functions and / or process data. The processor can be composed of integrated circuits (ICs), such as a single packaged IC or multiple packaged ICs with the same or different functions connected together. For example, the processor 401 may consist only of a central processing unit (CPU). In this embodiment, the CPU may have a single processing core or include multiple processing cores.

[0127] The memory 402 is used to store the execution instructions of the processor 401. The memory 402 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic storage, flash memory, magnetic disk or optical disk.

[0128] When the execution instructions in memory 402 are executed by processor 401, the electronic device 400 is able to perform operations. Figure 1 or Figure 2 Some or all of the steps in the illustrated embodiments.

[0129] In a specific implementation, the present invention also provides a computer storage medium, wherein the computer storage medium may store a program, which, when executed, may include some or all of the steps of the various embodiments of the online billing method provided by the present invention. The storage medium may be a magnetic disk, optical disk, read-only memory (ROM), or random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0130] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that the techniques in the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented using software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, or the parts that contribute to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product can be stored in a storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in various embodiments or certain parts of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0131] The same or similar parts between the various embodiments in this specification can be referred to mutually. In particular, the device embodiments and terminal embodiments are basically similar to the method embodiments, so the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the description in the method embodiments.

Claims

1. An online billing method, characterized in that, include: The online billing device receives online billing request messages sent by the billing network element; The online billing request message carries the user's identification information; Based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message, obtain the pre-set authorization information of the user; The user's authorization information is the user's service quota information; The authorization information is sent to the billing network element so that the billing network element can control the user's service usage based on the authorization information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the pre-set authorization information of the user based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message includes: Within a first preset time threshold, based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message, the smart authorization device obtains the first authorization information that has been preset, and uses the first authorization information as the user's authorization information; the first authorization information is the service quota information that the smart authorization device has preset for the user.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the pre-set authorization information of the user based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message includes: If the first authorization information is not obtained within the first preset time threshold, the second authorization information is obtained within the second preset time threshold, and the second authorization information is used as the user's authorization information; the second authorization information is the user's stored historical authorization information.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the pre-set authorization information of the user based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message includes: If the second authorization information is not obtained within the second preset time threshold, then the pre-set third authorization information is obtained and used as the user's authorization information; the third authorization information is the information of the pre-set service quota.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that, Also includes: Update the stored historical authorization information of the user based on the obtained authorization information of the user.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before obtaining the pre-set authorization information of the user based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message, the method further includes: Based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message, determine whether the user is a special user; The step of obtaining the pre-set authorization information of the user based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message includes: If the user is determined to be a special user, then third authorization information is obtained and used as the user's authorization information.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: Based on the authorization information, first online billing information is generated and saved; the first online billing information includes at least the user's identification information and service quota information; Based on the user's identification information in the first online billing information, obtain the detailed bill generation rules for the user; According to the user's detailed billing generation rules, at least one second online billing information is obtained from the saved first online billing information, and user detailed billing information is generated and saved based on the at least one second online billing information. The second online billing information is the first online billing information in the saved first online billing information that has not generated user detailed billing information.

8. An online billing device, characterized in that, include: The receiving unit is used to receive online billing request messages sent by the billing network element; The online billing request message carries the user's identification information; The acquisition unit is used to acquire the user's pre-set authorization information based on the user's identification information carried in the online billing request message; The authorization information is the user's service quota information; The processing unit is used to send the authorization information to the billing network element so that the billing network element can control the user's service usage based on the authorization information.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: A processor and a memory, the memory storing a computer program that, when executed, causes the electronic device to perform the method of any one of claims 1-7.

10. A storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium includes a stored program, wherein, when the program is executed, it controls the device containing the storage medium to perform the method described in any one of claims 1-7.

Images