Charging method and related device

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of charging, and in particular, to a charging method and a related device. The method comprises: a first R-CHF entity receives a first charging request from a charging trigger function (CTF) entity, the first charging request being used for requesting to create or update or release a first charging resource; the first R-CHF entity sends a second charging request to a main CHF entity, wherein the second charging request is used for a second charging resource, and the second charging resource is a charging resource between the first R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity; the first R-CHF entity receives a second charging response message sent by the main CHF entity and used for responding to the second charging request; and the first R-CHF entity sends a first charging response message to the CTF entity. By using the solution of the present application, the normal operation of charging can be ensured when the main CHF entity cannot provide a charging service.

Description

Billing methods and related equipment

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on August 17, 2023, with application number 202311044682.1 and invention name “Billing Method and Related Equipment”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of billing, and in particular to a billing method and related equipment. Background Art

[0003] In the 5G architecture, the billing architecture adopts a fusion of online and offline billing, as shown in Figure 1: The converged charging system (CCS) is a billing system that integrates online and offline billing and is connected to the charging trigger function (CTF) entity through the Nchf interface. The CCS receives the billing request sent by the CTF entity, which includes the CTF's quota application information and the usage information collected by the CTF. Based on the billing request and relevant information about the user's service, such as user type, customer information, account balance, service whitelist / blacklist, account balance change trend, and remaining validity period of the package, the CCS performs billing processing and sends the billing processing results to the CTF entity so that the CTF entity can adjust the billing operation for the user's service.

[0004] CCS includes the charging function (CHF) entity, the account balance management function (ABMF) entity, the charging gateway function (CGF) entity and the rating function (RF) entity.

[0005] The CHF entity includes an online charging function (OCF) and a charging data function (CDF). The CDF receives charging information from the CTF or CEF entities via the Nchf interface, generates CDRs, and transmits them to the CGF entity. The CGF ultimately creates charging data record (CDR) files and forwards them to the relevant processing equipment in the billing domain. The OCF, as the quota control node for online charging, provides quota management and applies online charging quotas to various user services. The RF entity is responsible for pricing the charging information provided by the OCF entity. The RF handles various billing types, such as data volume, session / connection time, and service event billing. The CGF entity receives CDRs from the CHF entity and performs functions such as sorting, merging, filtering, decoding, routing, and distribution of the CDRs. The CGF then transmits the CDRs to the billing domain via the Bx interface.

[0006] When the location of the user equipment changes or the user uses a new service, the CHF entity to which the user equipment belongs may no longer be able to provide billing services. This may cause service interruption for the user or loss to the operator.

[0007] Summary of the Invention

[0008] The embodiments of the present application provide a billing method and related devices. The embodiments of the present application can ensure normal billing when the main CHF entity cannot provide billing services, and are conducive to avoiding the problem of billing errors caused by capability differences.

[0009] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a billing method. The method is applied to a first R-CHF entity. The method includes:

[0010] The first R-CHF entity receives a first charging request from a charging trigger function CTF entity, where the first charging request is used to request creation, update, or release of a first charging resource, where the first charging resource is a charging resource for charging interaction between the CTF entity and the first R-CHF entity; the first R-CHF entity sends a second charging request to the primary CHF entity based on the first charging request; the second charging request is used for a second charging resource, where the second charging resource is a charging resource for charging interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity; the first R-CHF entity receives a second charging request sent by the primary CHF entity in response to the second charging request; The CTF entity receives a second charging response message from the master CHF entity, the second charging response message including third capability information, the third capability information being capability information determined by the master CHF entity according to the second charging request and used for interaction between the master CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity; the first R-CHF entity generates a first charging response message for responding to the first charging request according to the second charging response message, and sends a first charging response message to the CTF entity, the first charging response message including fourth capability information, the fourth capability information being capability information determined by the first R-CHF entity according to the third capability information and used for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity.

[0011] By introducing the R-CHF entity, normal billing can be ensured when the main CHF entity cannot provide billing services; and capability negotiation between the CTF entity, the first R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity is conducive to solving the problem of billing errors caused by capability differences.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request further includes first capability information; the first capability information is capability information provided by the CTF entity and can be used for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity; the second charging request includes second capability information, the second capability information represents a capability for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity, and the second capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity based on the first capability information; and the third capability information is determined by the primary CHF entity based on the second capability information.

[0013] The master CHF entity considers the capability information of the CTF entity and the capability information of the first R-CHF entity when determining the capability information, which is further helpful to solve the problem of billing errors caused by capability differences.

[0014] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first capability information includes at least one of a first payload size of a charging message for a first charging resource supported by the CTF entity, a first idle duration for charging information collection by the CTF entity for the first charging resource, or a first charging characteristic;

[0015] The fourth capability information includes at least one of a fourth payload size of a charging message for the first charging resource, a fourth idle time for charging information collection of a CTF entity for the first charging resource, a fourth charging characteristic, or a trigger condition setting for the first charging resource;

[0016] The second capability information includes at least one of a second payload size of a charging message for a second charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity, a second idle duration for charging information collection by the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource, or a second charging characteristic;

[0017] The third capability information includes at least one of a third payload size for charging messages in the second charging resource, a third idle time for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource, a third charging characteristic, or a second charging resource trigger condition setting.

[0018] The charging messages for the first charging resource are messages exchanged between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity, such as a first charging request message and a first charging response message. The charging messages for the second charging resource are messages exchanged between the first R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, such as a second charging request message and a second charging response message.

[0019] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the second capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity based on the first capability information, including:

[0020] When the first capability information includes a first payload size, the second capability information also includes a second payload size, and the second payload size is the smaller of the first payload size and the payload size of the charging message supported by the first R-CHF entity for the first charging resource; when the first capability information includes a first idle period, the second capability information also includes a second idle period, and the second idle period is the smaller of the first idle period and the idle period for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource; when the first capability information includes a first charging characteristic, the second capability information also includes a second charging characteristic, and the second charging characteristic is the intersection of the first charging characteristic and the charging characteristics supported by the first R-CHF entity.

[0021] The above method can realize capability negotiation between the CTF entity and the first R-CHF entity.

[0022] With reference to the first aspect, in one possible implementation, when the third capability information includes the first payload size, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth payload size; if the second capability information includes the second payload size, the fourth payload size is the third payload size; if the second capability information does not include the second payload size, the fourth payload size is the smaller of the third payload size and the payload size of the charging message for the first charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity;

[0023] When the third capability information includes the third idle duration, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth idle duration. If the second capability information includes the third idle duration, the fourth idle duration is the third idle duration. If the second capability information does not include the second idle duration, the fourth idle duration is the smaller of the third idle duration and the idle duration for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource.

[0024] If the third capability information includes the third billing characteristic, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth billing characteristic. If the second billing characteristic is included, the fourth billing characteristic is the third billing characteristic. If the second capability information does not include the second billing characteristic, the fourth billing characteristic is the intersection of the third billing characteristic and the billing characteristics supported by the first R-CHF entity.

[0025] Through the above manner, capability negotiation can be achieved among the CTF entity, the first R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity.

[0026] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the third capability information includes a second charging resource trigger condition setting, the fourth capability information also includes a first charging resource trigger condition setting, and the status information in the first charging resource trigger condition setting is a union of the status information in the second charging resource trigger condition setting and the status information of the trigger condition determined by the first R-CHF entity;

[0027] The threshold value of the trigger condition in the first charging resource trigger condition setting is the smaller one of the threshold value of the trigger condition in the second charging resource trigger condition setting and the threshold value of the trigger condition determined by the first R-CHF entity.

[0028] Through the above manner, capability negotiation can be achieved among the CTF entity, the first R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity.

[0029] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request is used to request creation of a first charging resource. The method of this embodiment further includes:

[0030] When the first billing request is used to request session-based convergent billing, the first R-CHF entity generates a first billing resource corresponding to the first billing request; the first R-CHF entity opens the first R-CHF call record in the first billing resource, and writes the billing information in the first billing request into the first R-CHF call record; when the first billing request is used to request one-time event billing, the first billing resource corresponding to the first billing request is generated, and the first R-CHF entity generates a first R-CHF call record based on the first billing resource and the billing information of the first billing request, and the first R-CHF call record includes the billing information in the first billing request.

[0031] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request carries an identifier of a second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity. The method of this embodiment further includes:

[0032] The first R-CHF entity generates a second charging request according to the identifier of the second charging resource, where the second charging request is used to request updating or releasing the second charging resource.

[0033] The second charging request includes an identifier of a second charging resource, and the second charging resource is a charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity.

[0034] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the second charging request further carries a notification receiving address of the first R-CHF, where the notification receiving address is used to update a notification address corresponding to the second charging resource on the primary CHF entity.

[0035] The notification address is used by the primary CHF entity to subsequently send a notification message to the first R-CHF entity.

[0036] In combination with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the second charging request is used to request an update or release of the second charging resource update, and the second charging request carries adjustment indication information, which is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has adjusted the trigger condition setting issued by the main CHF entity.

[0037] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request is used to update or release the first charging resource. The method of this embodiment further includes:

[0038] The first R-CHF entity determines a second R-CHF entity, where the second R-CHF entity is a CHF entity that provides relay capabilities for the CTF entity and the main CHF entity before the first R-CHF entity acts as a relay CHF entity; the first R-CHF entity obtains relevant information about the first billing resource from the second R-CHF entity, where the first billing information is the billing resource generated by the second R-CHF entity.

[0039] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request carries information about handover from the second R-CHF entity to the first R-CHF entity, and the first R-CHF entity obtains relevant information about the first charging resource from the second R-CHF entity, including:

[0040] The first R-CHF entity obtains first charging resource information from the second R-CHF entity according to the switching information;

[0041] The method of this embodiment further includes: the first R-CHF entity generating a second charging request according to the acquired first charging resource information.

[0042] By acquiring the first charging resource generated by the second R-CHF entity, switching from the second R-CHF entity to the first R-CHF entity is achieved.

[0043] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the method of this embodiment further includes:

[0044] The first R-CHF entity receives a remove R-CHF request sent by the CTF entity; the remove R-CHF request includes a remove indication, where the remove indication is used by the first R-CHF to return relevant information about the second billing resource generated by the primary CHF entity; and sends a remove response message to the CTF entity, where the remove response message includes relevant information about the second billing resource generated by the primary CHF entity.

[0045] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the method of this embodiment further includes:

[0046] The first R-CHF entity releases the first charging resource according to the remove R-CHF request, and the remove response message further includes a first charging resource release result.

[0047] When the first R-CHF entity provides a relay function between the CTF entity and the main CHF entity, if the main CHF entity can directly provide billing for the CTF entity, the first R-CHF entity is removed, which simplifies the billing system and reduces the power consumption of the first R-CHF entity.

[0048] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide another billing method. The method is applied to a CTF entity. The method includes:

[0049] The CTF entity sends a charging request to the first R-CHF entity. When the charging request is a request to remove the R-CHF entity based on the premise that charging resources have been established between the first R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, the removal R-CHF request includes a removal instruction, the removal instruction being used to instruct the R-CHF entity to return relevant information about the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity. The primary CHF entity provides online quota management and billing call record generation.

[0050] The method of this embodiment further includes:

[0051] The CTF entity receives a removal response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, where the removal response message includes relevant information of the second billing resource generated by the primary CHF entity, and the relevant information of the first billing resource includes a second billing resource identifier; the CTF entity sends a third billing request to the primary CHF based on the second billing resource identifier, where the third billing request is an operation request for the second billing resource.

[0052] The third charging request is a charging resource update request or a charging resource release request.

[0053] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, before or after sending the third charging request, the method of this embodiment further includes:

[0054] The CTF entity sends a release billing resource request to the first R-CHF entity, where the release billing resource request is used to request the release of relevant information of the billing resources created by the first R-CHF entity; the CTF entity receives a release billing resource response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, where the release billing resource response message is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has released relevant information of the billing resources created by the first R-CHF entity.

[0055] When the first R-CHF entity provides a relay function between the CTF entity and the main CHF entity, if the main CHF entity can directly provide billing for the CTF entity, the first R-CHF entity is removed, which simplifies the billing system and reduces the power consumption of the first R-CHF entity.

[0056] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, when the charging request is an insert R-CHF request under the premise that charging resources have been established between the CTF entity and the primary CHF entity, the insert R-CHF request includes relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity;

[0057] The method of this embodiment further includes: the CTF entity receiving a charging response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, where the charging response message includes a result of the first R-CHF sending the third charging request to the primary CHF according to relevant information of the second charging resource.

[0058] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a first R-CHF entity, which includes a transceiver unit and a generator unit.

[0059] A transceiver unit, configured to receive a first charging request from a charging trigger function CTF entity, where the first charging request creates, updates, or releases a first charging resource;

[0060] The transceiver unit is further configured to send a second charging request to the primary CHF entity, where the second charging request is used to request creation, update, or release of a second charging resource; and receive a second charging response message sent by the primary CHF entity in response to the second charging request, where the second charging response message includes third capability information, where the third capability information is capability information determined by the primary CHF entity based on the second charging request and used for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity.

[0061] The generating unit is further configured to generate a first charging response message for responding to the first charging request according to the second charging response message,

[0062] The transceiver unit is further configured to send a first charging response message to the CTF entity, where the first charging response message includes fourth capability information, where the fourth capability information is capability information determined by the first R-CHF according to the third capability information and used for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity.

[0063] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request further includes first capability information; the first capability information is capability information provided by the CTF entity and can be used for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity; the second charging request includes second capability information, the second capability information represents a capability for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity, and the second capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity based on the first capability information; and the third capability information is determined by the primary CHF entity based on the second capability information.

[0064] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first capability information includes at least one of a payload size of a charging message for a first charging resource supported by the CTF entity, a first idle duration for charging information collection by the CTF entity for the first charging resource, or a charging characteristic;

[0065] The fourth capability information includes at least one of a payload size of a charging message for the first charging resource, a fourth idle time for charging information collection of a CTF entity for the first charging resource, a charging characteristic, or a trigger condition setting of the first charging resource;

[0066] The second capability information includes at least one of a payload size of a charging message for a second charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity, a second idle duration for charging information collection by the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource, or a charging characteristic;

[0067] The third capability information includes at least one of a payload size of a charging message in a second charging resource, a third idle time for collecting charging information of a first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource, a charging characteristic, or a second charging resource trigger condition setting.

[0068] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the second capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity based on the first capability information, including:

[0069] When the first capability information includes a first payload size, the second capability information also includes a second payload size, and the second payload size is the smaller of the first payload size and the payload size of the charging message supported by the first R-CHF entity for the first charging resource; when the first capability information includes a first idle duration, the second capability information also includes a second idle duration, and the second idle duration is the smaller of the first idle duration and the idle duration for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource; when the first capability information includes a first charging characteristic, the second capability information also includes a second charging characteristic, and the second charging characteristic is the intersection of the first charging characteristic and the charging characteristics supported by the first R-CHF entity.

[0070] The above method can realize capability negotiation between the CTF entity and the first R-CHF entity.

[0071] In conjunction with the third aspect, in a possible implementation,

[0072] When the third capability information includes the first payload size, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth payload size; if the second capability information includes the second payload size, the fourth payload size is the third payload size; if the second capability information does not include the second payload size, the fourth payload size is the smaller of the third payload size and the payload size of the charging message for the first charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity;

[0073] When the third capability information includes the third idle duration, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth idle duration. If the second capability information includes the third idle duration, the fourth idle duration is the third idle duration. If the second capability information does not include the second idle duration, the fourth idle duration is the smaller of the third idle duration and the idle duration for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource.

[0074] If the third capability information includes the third billing characteristic, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth billing characteristic. If the second billing characteristic is included, the fourth billing characteristic is the third billing characteristic. If the second capability information does not include the second billing characteristic, the fourth billing characteristic is the intersection of the third billing characteristic and the billing characteristics supported by the first R-CHF entity.

[0075] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the third capability information includes a second charging resource trigger condition setting, the fourth capability information also includes a first charging resource trigger condition setting, and the status information in the first charging resource trigger condition setting is a union of the status information in the trigger condition setting of the second charging resource and the status information of the trigger condition determined by the first R-CHF entity;

[0076] The threshold value of the trigger condition in the first charging resource trigger condition setting is the smaller one of the threshold value of the trigger condition in the second charging resource trigger condition setting and the threshold value of the trigger condition determined by the first R-CHF entity.

[0077] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first R-CHF entity further includes:

[0078] The execution unit is configured to execute billing processing according to the first billing request.

[0079] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request is used to request creation of a first charging resource, and the first R-CHF entity further includes an execution unit configured to:

[0080] When the first billing request is used to request session-based converged billing, a first billing resource corresponding to the first billing request is generated; the first R-CHF call record in the first billing resource is opened, and the billing information in the first billing request is written into the first R-CHF call record; when the first billing request is used to request one-time event billing, a first billing resource corresponding to the first billing request is generated, and a first R-CHF call record is generated based on the first billing resource and the billing information of the first billing request, and the first R-CHF call record includes the billing information in the first billing request.

[0081] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request carries an identifier of a second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity, and the first R-CHF entity further includes an execution unit configured to:

[0082] A second charging request is generated according to the identifier of the second charging resource, where the second charging request is used to request updating or releasing the second charging resource.

[0083] In conjunction with the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the second charging request further carries a notification receiving address of the first R-CHF, where the notification receiving address is used to update a notification address corresponding to the second charging resource on the primary CHF entity.

[0084] The notification address is used by the primary CHF entity to subsequently send a notification message to the first R-CHF entity.

[0085] In combination with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the second charging request is used to request updating or releasing the second charging resource, and the second charging request carries adjustment indication information, which is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has adjusted the trigger condition setting issued by the main CHF entity.

[0086] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request is used to update or release the first charging resource, and the first R-CHF entity further includes an execution unit, which is configured to:

[0087] Determine a second R-CHF entity, where the second R-CHF entity is a CHF entity that provides relay capabilities for the CTF entity and the main CHF entity before the first R-CHF entity serves as a relay CHF entity; obtain relevant information about the first billing resource from the second R-CHF entity, where the first billing information is the billing resource generated by the second R-CHF entity.

[0088] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request carries information about handover from the second R-CHF entity to the first R-CHF entity. In terms of obtaining relevant information about the first charging resource from the second R-CHF entity, the execution unit is specifically configured to:

[0089] Obtain first charging resource information from the second R-CHF entity according to the switching information,

[0090] The generating unit is further configured to generate a second charging request according to the acquired first charging resource information.

[0091] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to:

[0092] receiving a remove R-CHF request sent by a CTF entity; the remove R-CHF request includes a remove indication, where the remove indication is used for the first R-CHF to return relevant information about the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity; and sending a remove response message to the CTF entity, where the remove response message includes relevant information about the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity.

[0093] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first R-CHF entity further includes:

[0094] The releasing unit is configured to release the first charging resource according to the remove R-CHF request, wherein the remove response message further includes a first charging resource release result.

[0095] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a CTF entity, comprising: a sending unit and a receiving unit.

[0096] a sending unit, configured to send a charging request to the first R-CHF entity, wherein the charging request is a request to remove the R-CHF entity under the premise that charging resources have been established between the first R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity; the request to remove the R-CHF entity includes a removal instruction, the removal instruction being used to instruct the R-CHF entity to return relevant information about the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity; the primary CHF entity provides online quota management and billing call record generation;

[0097] a receiving unit, configured to receive a removal response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, where the removal response message includes relevant information of the second billing resource generated by the primary CHF entity, and the relevant information of the first billing resource includes a second billing resource identifier;

[0098] The sending unit is further configured to send a third charging request to the primary CHF according to the second charging resource identifier, where the third charging request is an operation request for the second charging resource.

[0099] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, before or after the sending unit sends the third charging request,

[0100] The sending unit is further configured to send a request to release charging resources to the first R-CHF entity, where the request to release charging resources is used to request the release of relevant information of the charging resources created by the first R-CHF entity;

[0101] The receiving unit is further configured to receive a release charging resource response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, where the release charging resource response message is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has released relevant information of the charging resources created by the first R-CHF entity.

[0102] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation, when the charging request is an insert R-CHF request under the premise that charging resources have been established between the CTF entity and the primary CHF entity, the insert R-CHF request includes relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity;

[0103] The receiving unit is configured to receive a charging response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, where the charging response message includes a result of the first R-CHF sending the third charging request to the primary CHF according to relevant information of the second charging resource.

[0104] In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a first R-CHF entity, comprising a processor and a memory. The memory is configured to store program code. The processor is configured to invoke the program code stored in the memory to execute the method provided in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0105] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a CTF entity, comprising a processor and a memory. The memory is configured to store program code. The processor is configured to invoke the program code stored in the memory to execute the method provided in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0106] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer storage medium, including computer instructions. When the computer instructions are run on an electronic device, the electronic device executes the method provided in any possible implementation of the first aspect, or the method provided in any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0107] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product. When the computer program product runs on a computer, it enables the computer to execute the method provided in any possible implementation of the first aspect, or the method provided in any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0108] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a billing method, which is applied to a billing system, the billing system including a first R-CHF entity, a CTF entity, and a primary CHF entity, the billing method including:

[0109] The CTF entity sends a first charging request to the first R-CHF entity, where the first charging request is used to request creation, update, or release of a first charging resource;

[0110] The first R-CHF entity sends a second charging request to the primary CHF entity; the second charging request is used to request the creation, update, or release of a second charging resource; the primary CHF entity provides online quota management and billing call record generation;

[0111] The primary CHF entity performs charging processing according to the second charging request and generates a second charging response message for responding to the second charging request; sends the second charging response message to the first R-CHF entity, where the second charging response message includes third capability information, where the third capability information is capability information determined by the primary CHF according to the second charging request for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity;

[0112] The first R-CHF entity generates a first charging response message for responding to the first charging request according to the second charging response message, and sends the first charging response message to the CTF entity, where the first charging response message includes fourth capability information, where the fourth capability information is capability information determined by the first R-CHF according to the third capability information and used for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity.

[0113] The CTF entity performs charging processing according to the first charging response message.

[0114] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a charging system, the charging system including a first R-CHF entity, a CTF entity and a main CHF entity,

[0115] The CTF entity is configured to send a first charging request to the first R-CHF entity, where the first charging request is used to request creation, update, or release of a first charging resource;

[0116] The first R-CHF entity is used to send a second charging request to the main CHF entity; the second charging request is used to request the creation, update or release of a second charging resource; the main CHF entity provides online quota management and billing call record generation;

[0117] The primary CHF entity is configured to perform charging processing according to the second charging request and generate a second charging response message for responding to the second charging request; send the second charging response message to the first R-CHF entity, where the second charging response message includes third capability information, where the third capability information is capability information determined by the primary CHF according to the second charging request and used for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity;

[0118] a first R-CHF entity, configured to generate a first charging response message for responding to the first charging request according to the second charging response message, and send the first charging response message to the CTF entity, where the first charging response message includes fourth capability information, where the fourth capability information is capability information determined by the first R-CHF according to the third capability information and used for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity;

[0119] The CTF entity is configured to perform charging processing according to the first charging response message.

[0120] It is understood that the specific description of the CTF entity, the first R-CHF entity, and the main CHF entity described in the ninth aspect or the tenth aspect can be found in the method described in any one of the first aspect and the method described in any one of the second aspect, and will not be repeated here. The first R-CHF entity described in the third aspect or the fifth aspect is used to perform any of the methods provided in the first aspect, the CTF entity described in the fourth aspect or the sixth aspect is used to perform any of the methods provided in the second aspect, and the computer storage medium described in the seventh aspect and the computer program product described in the eighth aspect are both used to implement any of the methods provided in the first aspect or any of the methods provided in the second aspect. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can be referenced to the beneficial effects of the corresponding methods and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0121] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a billing system architecture;

[0122] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0123] FIG3 is a flow chart of a billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0124] FIG4 is a flow chart of another billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0125] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of an interactive flow of a billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0126] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of an interactive flow of another billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0127] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of an interactive flow of another billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0128] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of an interactive process of another billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0129] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a first R-CHF entity provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0130] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a CTF entity provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0131] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of another first R-CHF entity provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0132] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another CTF entity provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0133] The terms "first", "second", "third" and "fourth" in the specification, claims and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects rather than to describe a specific order.

[0134] "Multiple" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating the existence of three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" means: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0135] The embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0136] 2 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG2 , the system includes a CTF entity 201 , an R-CHF entity 202 , a main CHF entity 203 , an ABMF entity 204 , a CGF entity 205 and an RF entity 206 .

[0137] Optionally, the R-CHF entity is a local CHF entity, an edge CHF entity, or a service CHF entity. The edge CHF entity is a CHF entity that provides billing for edge services.

[0138] The CHF entity that provides online quota management and / or billing records for a particular user device is called the primary CHF entity 203 for that user device. The primary CHF entity 203 interfaces with the ABMF entity 204, RF entity 206, and CGF entity 205 to perform quota management, bill generation, and account balance management. The primary CHF entity 203 interfaces with the CRM, recharge center, billing capability provisioning system, and accounting system to manage the user device's account and subscription information. The primary CHF entity 203 typically remains constant despite changes in the user device's location.

[0139] For a user device, if the service used by the user exceeds the processing scope of the user device's primary CHF 203, resulting in the primary CHF entity 203 being unable to provide billing, the CTF entity 201 and the primary CHF entity 203 can be connected via the R-CHF entity 202. The R-CHF entity generates a first billing resource for the CTF entity, establishes and maintains an association between a second billing resource generated by the primary CHF entity and the first billing resource, and uses the first and second billing resources to enable the primary CHF entity to bill for the services provided by the CTF entity. Optionally, the R-CHF entity 202 and the primary CHF entity 203 may belong to the same operator or different operators. The R-CHF entity 202 may change as the user moves or changes in the services the user accesses.

[0140] In one example, the functions of the R-CHF entity 202 include but are not limited to: discovery of the main CHF entity 203 , forwarding of charging information, generation of R-CHF charging records, and insertion, removal, and switching of the R-CHF entity 202 .

[0141] The implementation process of this application is described in detail below.

[0142] Referring to FIG3 , FIG3 is a flow chart of a billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is applied to a first R-CHF entity. In one example, the first R-CHF entity is R-CHF entity 202 in FIG2 . As shown in FIG3 , the method includes:

[0143] S301: A first R-CHF entity receives a first charging request from a CTF entity.

[0144] The first charging request is used to request creation, update, or release of a first charging resource, where the first charging resource is a charging resource for charging interaction between the CTF entity and the first R-CHF entity.

[0145] Optionally, the first charging request includes first capability information, where the first capability information is capability information provided by the CTF entity and can be used for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity.

[0146] In one example, the first capability information includes at least one of a payload size of a charging message for a first charging resource supported by the CTF entity, a first idle duration for charging information collection by the CTF entity for the first charging resource, or a charging characteristic. In another example, the charging characteristic is a characteristic defined in 6.1.8 of 3GPP TS 32.291, and whether a quota management suspension capability is supported.

[0147] The charging message of the first charging resource refers to a message exchanged between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity through the first charging resource, such as a first charging request message and a first charging response message.

[0148] S302: The first R-CHF entity generates a second charging request according to the first charging request, and sends the second charging request to the primary CHF entity.

[0149] The second charging request is used to request creation, update or release of a second charging resource, where the second charging resource is a charging resource for charging interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity.

[0150] Optionally, the second charging request includes second capability information, where the second capability information represents a capability for the primary CHF entity to interact with the first R-CHF entity. The second capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity based on the first capability information.

[0151] In one example, the second capability information includes at least one of a payload size of a charging message for a second charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity, a second idle duration for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource, or a charging characteristic.

[0152] The charging message used for the second charging resource is information exchanged between the first R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity, such as a second charging request message and a second charging response message.

[0153] In a specific implementation, the second capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity based on the first capability information, including:

[0154] When the first capability information includes the first payload size, the second capability information also includes the second payload size, and the second payload size is the smaller of the first payload size and the payload size of the charging message for the second charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity; when the first capability information does not include the payload size, the second capability information may include the payload size or may not include the payload size. In this case, when the second capability information includes the payload size, the payload size of the second capability information is the payload size of the charging message supported by the first R-CHF entity;

[0155] When the first capability information includes a first idle duration, the second capability information also includes a second idle duration, and the second idle duration is the smaller of the first idle duration and an idle duration for collecting charging information of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource; when the first capability information includes the first idle duration, the second capability information may include the second idle duration or may not include the second idle duration. In this case, when the second capability information includes the second idle duration, the second idle duration is the idle duration for collecting charging information of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource;

[0156] When the first capability information includes billing characteristics, the second capability information also includes billing information, and the billing characteristics of the second capability information are the intersection of the billing characteristics of the first capability information and the billing characteristics supported by the first R-CHF entity; when the first capability information does not include billing characteristics, the second capability information may include billing characteristics or may not include billing characteristics. In this case, if the second capability information includes billing characteristics, the billing characteristics of the second capability information are the billing characteristics supported by the first R-CHF entity.

[0157] It should be pointed out that the above-mentioned capability information determination process is for the scenario where the first billing request is used to request the execution of session-based converged billing. For the scenario where the first billing request is used to request the execution of one-time event billing, the second billing request carries the billing information in the first billing request sent by the CTF, but does not carry the first capability information.

[0158] S303: The first R-CHF entity receives a second charging response message sent by the primary CHF entity to respond to the second charging request.

[0159] The second charging response message includes third capability information; the third capability information is capability information used for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity, determined by the primary CHF entity according to the second charging request.

[0160] In a specific example, when the second charging request does not include the second capability information, the third capability information is capability information supported and provided by the primary CHF entity for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity; when the second charging request includes the second capability information, the third capability information is capability information determined by the primary CHF entity based on the second capability information for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity.

[0161] In one example, the third capability information includes at least one of a payload size of a billing message for a second billing resource, a third idle time duration for billing information collection of a first R-CHF entity for a second billing resource, a fourth billing characteristic, or a second billing resource trigger setting.

[0162] In a specific implementation, the third capability information is determined by the primary CHF entity based on the second capability information, including:

[0163] When the second capability information includes the second payload size, the third capability information also includes the third payload size, and the third payload size is the smaller of the second payload size and the payload size of the charging message for the second charging resource supported by the primary CHF entity; when the second capability information does not include the second payload size, the third capability information may include the third payload size or may not include the third payload size, and when the third capability information includes the third payload size, the third payload size is the payload size of the charging message for the second charging resource supported by the primary CHF entity;

[0164] When the second capability information includes the second idle duration, the third capability information also includes the third idle duration, and the third idle duration is the smaller of the second idle duration and the idle duration for the second billing resource supported by the primary CHF entity; when the second capability information does not include the second idle duration, the third capability information may include the third idle duration or may not include the third idle duration. In this case, when the third capability information includes the third idle duration, the billing resource idle duration of the third capability information is the idle duration for the second billing resource supported by the primary CHF entity;

[0165] When the second capability information includes the second billing feature, the third capability information also includes third billing information, and the third billing feature is the intersection of the second billing feature and the billing feature supported by the primary CHF entity; when the second capability information does not include the second billing feature, the third capability information may include the third billing feature or may not include the third billing feature. When the third capability information includes the third billing feature, the third billing feature is a billing feature supported by the primary CHF entity.

[0166] The third capability information may also include a second billing resource trigger condition setting, and the second billing resource trigger condition setting includes: trigger status information (such as: trigger list, activation / deactivation status of triggers in the list, immediate reporting / delayed reporting status of triggers in the list), trigger threshold value (some triggers have thresholds, such as: threshold thresholds for statistical duration or traffic or number of events).

[0167] S304: The first R-CHF entity generates a first charging response message for responding to the first charging request according to the second charging response message, and sends the first charging response message to the CTF entity.

[0168] The first charging response message includes fourth capability information, and the fourth capability information is capability information determined by the first R-CHF entity according to the third capability information and used for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity.

[0169] In an example, the fourth capability information includes at least one of a payload size of a charging message in the first charging resource, an idle time of the first charging resource, a charging feature supported by the first charging resource, or a trigger setting of the first charging resource.

[0170] In a specific embodiment, the fourth capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity based on the third capability information, and includes:

[0171] When the third capability information includes the third payload size, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth payload size, and the fourth payload size is the smaller of the third payload size and the payload size of the charging message for the first charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity.

[0172] When the third capability information includes the third idle duration, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth idle duration, and the fourth idle duration is the smaller of the third idle duration and the idle duration for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource.

[0173] When the third capability information includes the third charging characteristic, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth charging characteristic, and the fourth charging characteristic is an intersection of the third charging characteristic and the charging characteristics supported by the first R-CHF entity.

[0174] When the third capability information includes the second charging resource trigger condition setting, the fourth capability information includes the first charging resource trigger condition setting. The trigger state information in the first charging resource trigger condition setting is a union of the trigger state information in the second charging resource trigger condition setting and the trigger state information determined by the first R-CHF entity. The trigger threshold limit in the first charging resource trigger condition setting is the smaller of the trigger threshold limit in the second charging resource trigger condition setting and the trigger threshold limit determined by the first R-CHF entity.

[0175] In a specific implementation, when the second charging request includes the second capability information, the fourth capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity based on the third capability information and the second capability information, including:

[0176] When the third capability information includes the third payload size, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth payload size. If the second capability information includes the second payload size, the fourth payload size is the third payload size. It should be noted that since the second payload size is already taken into account when determining the third payload size, the fourth payload size here implicitly refers to the smaller of the third payload size and the payload size of the charging message for the second charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity.

[0177] When the third capability information includes the third idle duration, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth idle duration. If the second capability information includes the second idle duration, the fourth idle duration is the third idle duration. It should be noted that since the second idle duration is already taken into account when determining the third idle duration, the fourth idle duration here implicitly refers to the smaller of the third idle duration and the idle duration for billing information collection by the first R-CHF entity for the second billing resource.

[0178] When the third capability information includes the third billing feature, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth billing feature. If the second capability information includes the second billing feature, the fourth billing feature is the third billing feature. It should be noted that since the second billing feature is already considered when determining the third billing feature, the fourth billing feature here implicitly refers to the intersection of the third billing feature and the billing features supported by the first R-CHF entity.

[0179] Among them, the Trigger setting of the third capability information is used to indicate the triggering condition and method for the primary CHF entity to instruct the first R-CHF to report charging information on the second charging resource, and the Trigger setting of the fourth capability information is used to indicate the triggering condition and method for the first R-CHF entity to instruct the CTF entity to report charging information.

[0180] The trigger setting includes the trigger setting status information and the trigger setting threshold value. The trigger setting status information includes: the trigger activation status, the immediate reporting / delayed reporting status of the activated trigger, and the threshold value of the activated trigger, such as the threshold value of the statistical duration, traffic volume, or number of events.

[0181] In one example, the trigger status information in the first charging resource trigger condition setting (i.e., the status information of the Trigger setting of the fourth capability information) is the union of the trigger status information in the second charging resource trigger condition setting (i.e., the status information of the Trigger setting of the third capability information) and the status information of the Trigger setting determined by the first R-CHF entity, including:

[0182] When the Trigger of the third capability information is set to an active state and / or the Trigger determined by the first R-CHF entity is set to an active state, the Trigger of the fourth capability information is set to an active state;

[0183] When the Trigger of the third capability information is set to the immediate reporting state and / or the Trigger determined by the first R-CHF entity is set to the immediate reporting state, the Trigger of the fourth capability information is set to the immediate reporting state;

[0184] The threshold value of the Trigger in the fourth capability information is the smaller of the threshold value of the Trigger in the third capability information and the threshold value of the Trigger determined by the first R-CHF entity.

[0185] In an example, the parameter value here can be traffic, statistical duration, number of events, etc.

[0186] For example, the Trigger setting of the third capability information indicates that the user terminal reports when the traffic usage exceeds 500M, and the Trigger setting determined by the first R-CHF entity indicates that the user terminal reports when the traffic usage exceeds 200M. The Trigger setting of the fourth capability information indicates that the user terminal reports when the traffic usage exceeds 200M.

[0187] Capability negotiation among the CTF entity, the first R-CHF entity, and the main CHF entity is helpful in solving the problem of billing errors caused by capability differences.

[0188] In one possible implementation, the method of this embodiment further includes:

[0189] The first R-CHF entity performs charging processing according to the first charging request.

[0190] In one possible implementation, for a scenario where a first charging resource has not been established between the CTF entity and the first R-CHF entity, and a second charging resource has not been established between the first R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity (scenario 1), the CTF entity needs to establish the first charging resource with the first R-CHF entity. In this case, the first charging request is a first charging resource creation request, which is used to request the creation of the first charging resource. The first R-CHF entity performs charging processing according to the first charging request, including:

[0191] When the first billing request is used to request session-based convergent billing, the first R-CHF entity generates billing resources corresponding to the first billing request, opens the first R-CHF call record in the first billing resource, and writes the billing information in the first billing request into the first R-CHF call record.

[0192] When the first billing request is used to request execution of a one-time event billing, the first R-CHF entity generates billing resources corresponding to the first billing request, and generates a first R-CHF call record based on the billing resources corresponding to the first billing request and the first billing, and the first R-CHF call record includes the billing information in the first billing request.

[0193] The first R-CHF entity needs to establish a second billing resource with the primary CHF entity. The second billing request is a billing resource creation request. The second billing response message includes, but is not limited to, an identifier of the second billing resource generated by the primary CHF entity for the first R-CHF entity, a billing processing result, and third capability information. When the first R-CHF entity receives the second billing response message sent by the primary CHF entity, it indicates that the establishment of the second billing resource between the first R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity is complete.

[0194] In response to the first charging request, the first charging response message includes, but is not limited to, an identifier of the first charging resource generated by the first R-CHF entity for the CTF entity, a charging processing result, and fourth capability information. When the CTF entity receives the first charging response message, it indicates that the establishment of the charging resource between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity is complete.

[0195] In another possible implementation, for a scenario where billing resources have been established between the CTF entity and the primary CHF entity (scenario 2), if the primary CHF entity is unable to provide billing due to a change in the location of the user equipment, a change in the service, or a change in the CTF entity providing services to the user equipment, a first R-CHF entity needs to be introduced as a relay. In this case, the first billing request is a billing resource update request, and the first billing request carries an identifier of a second billing resource generated by the primary CHF entity. The first R-CHF entity performs billing processing according to the first billing request, including:

[0196] The first R-CHF entity obtains the second billing resource from the CTF entity based on the identifier of the second billing resource, opens the first R-CHF call record in the second billing resource, and writes the billing information in the first billing request into the first R-CHF call record, thereby completing the update of the billing resource. The first R-CHF entity generates a second billing request based on the identifier of the second billing resource. The second billing request is a request for an operation on the second billing resource.

[0197] In one example, the second billing request is a billing resource update request or a billing resource release request. The second billing request carries an identifier of a second billing resource generated by the primary CHF entity, so that when the primary CHF entity receives the second billing request, it performs billing processing according to the second billing resource to complete the update of the billing resource or releases the relevant information of the second billing resource when the primary CHF entity completes the billing processing.

[0198] Optionally, the second charging request also carries a notification receiving address of the first R-CHF entity, which is used to update the notification address corresponding to the second charging resource on the primary CHF entity. The notification address is used by the primary CHF entity to subsequently send notification messages to the first R-CHF entity.

[0199] In another possible implementation, the second charging request is a charging resource update request, and the second charging request carries adjustment indication information, where the adjustment indication information is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has adjusted the trigger setting sent by the main CHF entity.

[0200] In another possible implementation, the method of this embodiment further includes:

[0201] The first R-CHF entity determines the address of the primary CHF entity in two ways:

[0202] Method 1: The first charging request carries the address of the primary CHF entity, and the first R-CHF entity directly obtains the address of the primary CHF entity from the first charging request.

[0203] Method 2: The first charging request carries a user identifier, and the first R-CHF entity queries information in a network resource function (NRF) entity or charging configuration information of a CTF entity according to the user identifier to determine the address of the primary CHF entity.

[0204] It should be understood that the address of the primary CHF entity here refers to a uniform resource identifier (URI) that provides a corresponding service in the primary CHF entity.

[0205] In one possible implementation, when charging resources have been established between the CTF entity and the second R-CHF entity, and charging resources have been established between the second R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, if the location of the user equipment changes, or the service changes, or the CTF entity providing services for the user equipment changes, resulting in the second R-CHF entity being unable to provide relay for the CTF entity and the primary CHF entity, the CTF entity determines to switch the R-CHF entity, that is, to switch from the second R-CHF entity to the first R-CHF entity. In this case, the method of this embodiment further includes:

[0206] The first R-CHF entity determines the second R-CHF entity, and obtains relevant information of the first charging resource from the second R-CHF entity; the first charging resource is the charging resource generated by the second R-CHF entity for the CTF entity.

[0207] The relevant information of the above-mentioned billing resource includes but is not limited to the billing resource identifier and context information of the billing resource, such as user information, quota information allocated by the primary CHF, etc.

[0208] By migrating the relevant information of the first charging resource cached in the second R-CHF entity to the first R-CHF entity, handover from the second R-CHF entity to the first R-CHF entity is achieved.

[0209] In one possible implementation, the first charging request carries handover information of the second R-CHF entity handover to the first R-CHF entity, and the first R-CHF entity obtains relevant information of the first charging resource from the second R-CHF entity, including:

[0210] The first R-CHF entity obtains relevant information of the first charging resource from the second R-CHF entity according to the switching information,

[0211] The method of this embodiment further includes:

[0212] The first R-CHF entity generates a second charging request according to the acquired relevant information of the first charging resource.

[0213] In one example, the switching information of the second R-CHF entity switching to the first R-CHF entity includes but is not limited to a switching indication or an identifier or address of the second R-CHF entity, and the switching indication is used to instruct the second R-CHF entity to switch to the first R-CHF entity. At the same time, the first R-CHF entity can also determine the address of the second R-CHF entity based on the switching information, and the first R-CHF entity obtains relevant information of the first billing resource from the second R-CHF entity based on the address of the second R-CHF entity.

[0214] In one possible implementation, when charging resources have been established between the CTF entity and the first R-CHF entity, and charging resources have been established between the first R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, if the location of the user equipment changes, or the service changes, or the CTF entity providing services for the user equipment changes, resulting in the primary CHF entity being able to directly provide charging without the first R-CHF entity acting as a relay, the CTF entity determines to remove the first R-CHF entity.

[0215] In view of the above situation, the method of this embodiment further includes:

[0216] The first R-CHF entity receives a remove R-CHF request sent by the CTF entity, where the remove R-CHF request includes a remove indication, where the remove indication is used by the first R-CHF to return relevant information about the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity; the first R-CHF entity sends a remove response message to the CTF entity in response to the remove R-CHF request, where the remove response message includes relevant information about the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity.

[0217] The relevant information of the second billing resource includes but is not limited to the second billing resource identifier and the context information of the second billing resource.

[0218] The CTF entity executes the next charging application according to the relevant information of the second charging resource, that is, the CTF entity sends an update or release request of the charging resource to the primary CHF according to the relevant information of the second charging resource.

[0219] Furthermore, after the CTF entity interacts successfully with the primary CHF, the CTF entity sends a first charging resource release request to the first R-CHF entity, requesting the first R-CHF entity to release the first charging resource.

[0220] In one possible implementation, the method of this embodiment further includes:

[0221] When the first R-CHF entity receives the remove R-CHF request sent by the CTF entity, it directly releases the first charging resource when returning relevant information of the second charging resource to the CTF entity.

[0222] When the first R-CHF entity is not needed to provide relay for the CTF entity and the main CHF entity, the storage resources of the first R-CHF entity are saved by deleting the relevant information of the charging information cached in the first R-CHF entity.

[0223] As can be seen, in the solution of the embodiment, when the primary CHF entity is unable to provide billing, an R-CHF entity is dynamically introduced between the CTF entity and the primary CHF entity. This ensures normal billing when the primary CHF entity is unable to provide billing services, simplifies the implementation of the operator network, does not affect user service usage or operator billing, and thus improves the user experience. Furthermore, to prevent normal interaction between the CTF entity and the R-CHF entity, and between the R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, capability negotiation is performed between the CTF entity and the R-CHF entity, and between the R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity. In scenarios where billing resources have been established between the CTF entity and the R-CHF entity, and between the R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, the CTF entity dynamically removes the R-CHF entity when the primary CHF entity is capable of billing. This simplifies the implementation of the operator network, does not affect user service usage or operator billing, and thus improves the user experience. For the scenario where billing resources have been established between the CTF entity and the second R-CHF entity and billing resources have been established between the second R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity, if the second R-CHF entity cannot provide relay services between the CTF entity and the main CHF entity, the normal billing is guaranteed by switching the second R-CHF entity serving as a relay to the first R-CHF entity, thereby simplifying the implementation of the operator's network, and having no impact on the user's use of services and the operator's billing of users, thereby improving the user experience.

[0224] Refer to Figure 4, which is a flow chart of another billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method shown in Figure 4 is applied to the CTF entity 201 in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 4, the method includes:

[0225] S401. The CTF entity sends a charging request to the first R-CHF entity.

[0226] In one specific implementation, when the billing request is a request to remove the R-CHF entity based on the premise that billing resources have been established between the first R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, the request to remove the R-CHF entity includes a removal instruction, which is used to instruct the first R-CHF entity to return information related to the second billing resource generated by the primary CHF entity. The primary CHF entity provides online quota management and billing record generation.

[0227] Specifically, under the premise that charging resources have been established between the CTF entity and the first R-CHF entity, and charging resources have been established between the first R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, if the primary CHF entity can directly provide charging without the first R-CHF entity acting as a relay due to a change in the location of the user equipment, a change in the service, or a change in the CTF entity providing services to the user equipment, the CTF entity determines to remove the first R-CHF entity. In this case, the CTF entity sends a remove R-CHF request to the first R-CHF entity.

[0228] S402: The CTF entity receives a removal response message sent by the first R-CHF entity. The removal response message includes relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity.

[0229] In an example, the relevant information of the second charging resource includes but is not limited to the second charging resource identifier and the address of the primary CHF entity.

[0230] It should be noted that the second charging resource is a charging resource generated by the master CHF entity for the first R-CHF entity.

[0231] S403: The CTF entity sends a third charging request to the primary CHF according to the second charging resource identifier. The third charging request is an operation request for the second charging resource.

[0232] Optionally, the third billing request is a billing resource update request or a billing resource release request.

[0233] In one possible implementation, before or after the CTF entity sends the third charging request to the first R-CHF entity, the method of this embodiment further includes:

[0234] The CTF entity sends a release billing resource request to the first R-CHF entity, where the release billing resource request is used to request the release of relevant information of the billing resources created by the first R-CHF entity; the CTF entity sends a release billing resource response message to the first R-CHF entity, where the response message is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has released relevant information of the billing resources created by the first R-CHF entity.

[0235] By instructing the first R-CHF entity to release relevant information of charging resources, storage resources of the first R-CHF can be saved.

[0236] In another possible implementation, when the charging request is an insert R-CHF request under the premise that charging resources have been established between the CTF entity and the primary CHF entity, the insert R-CHF request includes relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity;

[0237] The CTF entity receives a charging response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, where the charging response message includes a result of the first R-CHF sending the third charging request to the primary CHF based on the relevant information of the second charging resource, where the result includes whether the charging process for the third charging request is successful or failed.

[0238] It can be seen that in the solution of this embodiment, for the scenario where billing resources have been established between the CTF entity and the R-CHF entity and billing resources have been established between the R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, when the primary CHF entity is capable of billing, the CTF entity dynamically removes the R-CHF entity, which simplifies the implementation of the operator's network and does not affect the user's use of services and the operator's billing of users, thereby improving the user experience.

[0239] Refer to Figure 5, which is a schematic diagram of an interactive process of a billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5, the method includes:

[0240] S501: The CTF entity determines to perform billing relay.

[0241] In one example, a user uses a new service through a user equipment, but the main CHF entity cannot provide billing for the new service. In this case, billing relay is required.

[0242] In another example, the user's location changes, causing the user device to be located in an area where the primary CHF cannot provide billing. For example, the user device moves from an area covered by one operator's network to an area covered by another operator's network, or the same network operator covers multiple areas, and the user device moves from one area to another, resulting in the primary CHF being unable to provide billing. In this case, billing relay is required.

[0243] It should be noted that the billing process shown in Figure 5 is for the scenario where convergent billing resources are not established. In the above situation, if convergent billing resources are not established, then convergent billing resources are established.

[0244] S502: The CTF entity determines the address of the first R-CHF entity and generates a first charging request.

[0245] The first charging request is used to request creation of a first charging resource for charging interaction between the CTF entity and the first R-CHF entity.

[0246] It should be noted that there is no specific order in which the CTF entity performs the "determining the address of the first R-CHF entity" operation and the "generating the first charging request" operation. Alternatively, the CTF entity may perform the "determining the address of the first R-CHF entity" operation first and then the "generating the first charging request" operation, or the CTF entity may perform the "generating the first charging request" operation first and then the "determining the address of the first R-CHF entity" operation, or both operations may be performed simultaneously.

[0247] Optionally, the first charging request includes first capability information, where the first capability information is capability information provided by the CTF entity and can be used for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity. The first capability information includes at least one of a first payload size of a charging message for a first charging resource supported by the CTF entity, a first idle duration for charging information collection by the CTF entity for the first charging resource, or a first charging characteristic. Of course, the first capability information can also include other information, which is not limited here.

[0248] In one example, the charging characteristic is a characteristic defined in 6.1.8 of 3GPP TS 32.291, and whether the management quota suspension capability is supported.

[0249] The charging message of the first charging resource is a message exchanged between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity, such as a first charging request message and a first charging response message.

[0250] S503: The CTF entity sends a first charging request to the first R-CHF entity.

[0251] In an example, the CTF entity sends a first charging request to the first R-CHF entity according to the address of the first R-CHF entity.

[0252] Optionally, the CTF entity determines the address of the first R-CHF entity in the following manner:

[0253] Method 1: The CTF entity determines the address of the R-CHF entity based on the CTF entity identifier. In one example, the CTF queries a correspondence table based on the CTF entity identifier to determine the address of the first R-CHF entity, where the correspondence table is a correspondence table between the CTF entity identifier, the R-CHF entity identifier, and the R-CHF entity address.

[0254] Method 2: The CTF entity determines the address of the first R-CHF entity based on the location information of the user equipment. In one example, the CTF entity determines the location of the user equipment based on the location information of the user equipment, then determines the CHF entity that provides billing for the area to which the user equipment belongs, identifies the CHF entity as the first R-CHF entity, and obtains the address of the first R-CHF entity.

[0255] Method 3: The CTF entity determines the address of the first R-CHF entity based on the service information used by the user equipment. The R-CHF is the CHF entity that provides billing for the services used by the user equipment. If there are multiple CHF entities that provide billing for the services used by the user equipment, the CTF entity selects the CHF entity with the shortest distance between its coverage area and the user equipment as the first R-CHF entity.

[0256] It should be understood that the above correspondence table, CHF coverage area, and CHF-provided charging service information are stored in the NRF entity or the charging configuration information of the CTF entity.

[0257] S504: The first R-CHF entity performs charging processing and generates a second charging request.

[0258] The second charging request is used to request establishment of a second charging resource for charging interaction between the first R-CHF and the primary CHF.

[0259] Specifically, when the first billing request is used to request convergent billing based on a first billing resource, the first R-CHF entity generates a first billing resource corresponding to the first billing request and opens a first R-CHF call record in the first billing resource so that the billing center can write the call record. When the first billing request is used to request one-time event billing, the first R-CHF entity generates the first billing resource corresponding to the first billing request and generates a first R-CHF call record. It should be understood that opening the first R-CHF call record means creating an R-CHF call record and waiting for billing information to be written. Generating the first R-CHF call record includes creating the first R-CHF call record, writing billing information to the first R-CHF call record, and then closing the first R-CHF call record.

[0260] It should be understood that the first R-CHR call record here includes a CDR call record. The first billing resources include but are not limited to user identification, user equipment identification, user equipment location, user-subscribed services, traffic packages, used traffic, etc.

[0261] Optionally, the second charging request includes second capability information, where the second capability information represents a capability for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity. The second capability information is obtained by the first R-CHF entity based on the first capability information.

[0262] The second capability information includes at least one of a second payload size of a charging message for a second charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity, a second idle time duration for charging information collected by the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource, or a second charging characteristic. Of course, the second charging request may also include other information, which is not limited here.

[0263] The charging message used for the second charging resource is information exchanged between the first R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity, such as a second charging request message and a second charging response message.

[0264] In a specific implementation, the second capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity based on the first capability information, including:

[0265] When the first capability information includes the first payload size, the second capability information also includes the second payload size, and the second payload size is the smaller of the first payload size and the payload size of the charging message for the second charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity; when the first capability information does not include the first payload size, the second capability information may include the second payload size or may not include the second payload size. In this case, when the second capability information includes the second payload size, the second payload size is the payload size of the charging message for the second charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity;

[0266] When the first capability information includes the first idle duration, the second capability information also includes the second idle duration, and the second idle duration is the smaller of the first idle duration and the idle duration for collecting billing information of the first R-CHF entity used for the second billing resource; when the first capability information does not include the first idle duration, the second capability information may include the second idle duration or may not include the second idle duration. When the second capability information includes the second idle duration, the second idle duration is the idle duration for collecting billing information of the first R-CHF entity used for the second billing resource;

[0267] When the first capability information includes the first billing feature, the second capability information also includes the second billing information, and the second billing feature is the intersection of the first billing feature and the billing features supported by the first R-CHF entity; when the first capability information does not include the first billing feature, the second capability information may include the second billing feature or may not include the second billing feature. When the second capability information includes the second billing feature, the second billing feature is the billing feature supported by the first R-CHF entity.

[0268] It should be pointed out that the above-mentioned capability information determination process is for the scenario where the first billing request is used to request the execution of session-based converged billing. For the scenario where the first billing request is used to request the execution of one-time event billing, the second billing request carries the billing information in the first billing request sent by the CTF, but does not carry the first capability information.

[0269] When the first charging request is used to request execution of a one-time event charging, the second charging request is used to request execution of a one-time event charging between the first R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity, wherein the second charging request includes the charging information in the first charging request.

[0270] Optionally, before the first R-CHF entity performs billing, if the CTF entity and the first R-CHF entity belong to different operators, the first R-CHF entity determines whether to authorize the user equipment to use the current service based on the operator configuration information. If it is determined that the user equipment is authorized to use the current service, the first R-CHF entity performs billing; if it is determined that the user equipment is not authorized to use the current service, the first R-CHF entity does not perform billing.

[0271] S505: The first R-CHF entity sends a second charging request to the primary CHF entity.

[0272] The first R-CHF entity queries the NRF entity according to the user equipment identifier or determines the address of the main CHF entity from the local configuration, and then sends a second charging request to the main CHF entity according to the address of the main CHF entity.

[0273] S506: The primary CHF entity performs charging processing and generates a second charging response message.

[0274] Specifically, when the second charging request is used to request convergent charging based on the second charging resource, the primary CHF entity generates the second charging resource and performs charging processing based on the second charging resource, including online charging processing or offline charging processing, to obtain a charging processing result, including an online charging processing result or an offline charging processing result. The primary CHF entity opens the primary CHF call record to write the charging information and performs account balance management, such as granting quotas.

[0275] Optionally, when the first R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity belong to different operators, the main CHF entity determines whether to authorize the user equipment to use the current service based on the user's contract information; if the user equipment is authorized to use the current service, the main CHF entity performs billing processing; when it is determined that the user equipment is not authorized to use the current service, the main CHF entity does not perform billing processing.

[0276] When the second charging request is used to request execution of one-time event charging, the primary CHF entity generates charging resources corresponding to the second charging request, generates a primary CHF call record, or performs a balance deduction.

[0277] It should be understood that opening a main CHF bill refers to creating a main CHF bill. Generating a main CHF bill includes creating a main CHF bill, writing billing information into the main CHF bill, and then closing the main CHF bill.

[0278] S507: The primary CHF entity sends a second charging response message to the first R-CHF entity.

[0279] The second charging response message includes a charging processing result, which includes an online charging processing result and / or an offline charging processing result.

[0280] When the second charging request is a charging resource creation request, the second charging response message further includes a second charging resource identifier. Optionally, the second charging response message further includes third capability information. The third capability information is capability information determined by the primary CHF entity based on the second charging request for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity.

[0281] Among them, the third capability information includes at least one of a third payload size for the billing message in the second billing resource, a third idle time for billing information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second billing resource, a third billing characteristic, or a second billing resource trigger condition setting.

[0282] In a specific example, when the second charging request does not include the second capability information, the third capability information is capability information provided by the primary CHF entity for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity; when the second charging request includes the second capability information, the third capability information is determined by the primary CHF entity based on the second capability information.

[0283] In a specific implementation, the third capability information is determined by the primary CHF entity based on the second capability information, including:

[0284] When the second capability information includes the second payload size, the third capability information also includes the third payload size, and the third payload size is the smaller of the second payload size and the payload size of the charging message for the second charging resource supported by the primary CHF entity; when the second capability information does not include the second payload size, the third capability information may include the third payload size or may not include the third payload size. In this case, when the third capability information includes the third payload size, the third payload size is the payload size of the charging message for the second charging resource supported by the primary CHF entity;

[0285] When the second capability information includes the second idle duration, the third capability information also includes the third idle duration, and the third idle duration is the smaller of the second idle duration and the idle duration for the second billing resource supported by the primary CHF entity; when the second capability information does not include the second idle duration, the third capability information may include the second idle duration or may not include the second idle duration. In this case, when the third capability information includes the third idle duration, the third idle duration is the idle duration for the second billing resource supported by the primary CHF entity;

[0286] When the second capability information includes the second billing feature, the third capability information also includes third billing information, and the third billing feature is the intersection of the second billing feature and the billing feature supported by the primary CHF entity; when the second capability information does not include the second billing feature, the third capability information may include the third billing feature or may not include the third billing feature. In this case, when the third capability information includes the third billing feature, the third billing feature is a billing feature supported by the primary CHF entity.

[0287] The third capability information may also include a second billing resource trigger condition setting, and the second billing resource trigger condition setting includes: trigger status information (such as: trigger list, activation / deactivation status of triggers in the list, immediate reporting / delayed reporting status of triggers in the list), trigger threshold value (some triggers have thresholds, such as: threshold thresholds for statistical duration or traffic or number of events).

[0288] S508: The first R-CHF entity generates a first charging response message according to the second charging response message.

[0289] Specifically, the first billing response message includes a billing processing result. The billing processing result includes an online billing processing result and / or an offline billing processing result. When the first billing request is used to request a billing resource creation request, the first billing response message also includes a first billing resource identifier.

[0290] Optionally, the first billing response message also includes fourth capability information, which includes a fourth payload size of the billing message for the first billing resource, a fourth idle time for billing information collection of the CTF entity for the first billing resource, a fourth billing characteristic, or at least one of the first billing resource trigger condition settings.

[0291] In a case where the first charging request is used to request convergent charging based on the first charging session, and the second charging request does not include the second capability information, when the third capability information includes a third payload size, the fourth capability information also includes a fourth payload size, and the fourth payload size is the smaller of the third payload size and a payload size of a charging message for the first charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity;

[0292] When the third capability information includes a third idle duration, the fourth capability information also includes a fourth idle duration, and the fourth idle duration is the smaller of the third idle duration and an idle duration for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource;

[0293] When the third capability information includes a third charging characteristic, the fourth capability information also includes fourth charging information, and the fourth charging characteristic is an intersection of the third charging characteristic and a charging characteristic supported by the first R-CHF entity;

[0294] In the case where the first charging request is used to request convergent charging based on the first charging session, and the second charging request includes the second capability information, when the third capability information includes the third payload size, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth payload size. If the second capability information includes the second payload size, the fourth payload size is the third payload size. It should be noted that since the second payload size of the second capability information is already considered when determining the third payload size of the third capability information, the fourth payload size of the fourth capability information here is implicitly the smaller of the third payload size included in the third capability information and the payload size of the charging message for the first charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity. If the second capability information does not include the second payload size, the fourth payload size is the smaller of the third payload size and the payload size of the charging message for the first charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity.

[0295] When the third capability information includes the third idle duration, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth idle duration. If the second capability information includes the second idle duration, the fourth idle duration is the third idle duration. It should be noted that since the second idle duration is already taken into account when determining the third idle duration, the fourth idle duration here is implicitly the smaller of the third idle duration and the idle duration for collecting billing information for the first R-CHF entity used for the second billing resource. If the second capability information does not include the second idle duration, the fourth idle duration is the smaller of the third idle duration and the idle duration for collecting billing information for the first R-CHF entity used for the second billing resource.

[0296] When the third capability information includes the third billing feature, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth billing feature. If the second capability information includes the second billing feature, the fourth billing feature is the third billing feature. It should be noted that since the second billing feature is already considered when determining the third billing feature, the fourth billing feature here implicitly refers to the intersection of the third billing feature and the billing features supported by the first R-CHF entity. If the second capability information does not include the second billing feature, the fourth billing feature is the intersection of the third billing feature and the billing features supported by the first R-CHF entity.

[0297] The first charging session is a charging session between the CTF entity and the first R-CHF entity.

[0298] In one possible implementation, the third capability information further includes a second charging resource trigger condition setting, and the fourth capability information includes a first charging resource trigger condition setting. The trigger state information in the first charging resource trigger condition setting is the union of the trigger state information in the second charging resource trigger condition setting and the trigger state information determined by the first R-CHF entity, and the trigger threshold limit in the first charging resource trigger condition setting is the smaller of the trigger threshold limit in the second charging resource trigger condition setting and the trigger threshold limit determined by the first R-CHF entity.

[0299] The threshold value of the trigger condition in the Trigger setting of the fourth capability information is the smaller of the threshold value of the trigger condition in the Trigger setting of the third capability information and the threshold value of the trigger condition determined by the first R-CHF entity.

[0300] The Trigger setting of the third capability information is used to indicate the condition and method for the primary CHF entity to instruct the CTF entity to report charging information. The Trigger setting of the fourth capability information is used to indicate the condition and method determined by the first R-CHF entity to instruct the CTF entity to report charging information.

[0301] The trigger setting includes the trigger setting status information and the trigger setting threshold value. The trigger setting status information includes: the trigger activation status, the immediate reporting / delayed reporting status of the activated trigger, and the threshold value of the activated trigger, such as the threshold value of the statistical duration, traffic volume, or number of events.

[0302] In one example, the trigger status information in the first charging resource trigger condition setting (i.e., the status information of the Trigger setting of the fourth capability information) is the union of the trigger status information in the second charging resource trigger condition setting (i.e., the status information of the Trigger setting of the third capability information) and the status information of the Trigger setting determined by the first R-CHF entity, including:

[0303] When the Trigger of the third capability information is set to an active state and / or the Trigger determined by the first R-CHF entity is set to an active state, the Trigger of the fourth capability information is set to an active state;

[0304] When the Trigger of the third capability information is set to the immediate reporting state and / or the Trigger determined by the first R-CHF entity is set to the immediate reporting state, the Trigger of the fourth capability information is set to the immediate reporting state;

[0305] In an example, the parameter value here can be traffic, statistical duration, number of events, etc.

[0306] For example, the Trigger setting of the third capability information indicates that the user terminal reports when the traffic usage exceeds 500M, and the Trigger setting supported by the first R-CHF entity indicates that the user terminal reports when the traffic usage exceeds 200M. The Trigger setting of the fourth capability information indicates that the user terminal reports when the traffic usage exceeds 200M.

[0307] S509: The first R-CHF entity sends a first charging response message to the CTF entity.

[0308] The first billing response message is used to respond to the first billing request.

[0309] S510: The CTF entity processes a service according to the first charging response message.

[0310] Specifically, processing the service includes continuing to collect service billing information, such as counting service usage, or enforcing quotas. Optionally, the first charging response message includes fourth capability information, and the CTF entity performs settings according to the fourth capability information included in the first charging response message.

[0311] S511: The CTF entity, the first R-CHF entity, and the main CHF entity perform subsequent charging interaction.

[0312] It should be understood that the subsequent interaction process can refer to the relevant description of S502-S510 and will not be described here. The difference between the subsequent interaction process and S502-S510 is:

[0313] 1. In S502, the CTF entity does not need to determine the address of the R-CHF.

[0314] 2. In S504, the first R-CHF entity does not need to generate a first billing resource, does not need to create a new call record, writes billing data to the opened call record, and does not need to determine the address of the primary CHF entity. If the trigger setting in the third capability information is inconsistent with the trigger setting sent by the first R-CHF to the CTF entity, the first R-CHF, upon receiving the trigger setting sent by the CTF entity, sends the trigger setting to the primary CHF entity and adds adjustment indication information to the message reporting the trigger setting of the CTF entity to the primary CHF entity (such as a billing request subsequently sent by the first R-CHF entity to the primary CHF entity). The adjustment indication information is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has adjusted the trigger setting sent by the primary CHF entity.

[0315] 3. In S506, the main CHF entity does not need to generate billing resources or create a new call bill. The billing data, including quota deduction, is written into the call bill. If there is a quota, the quota is granted.

[0316] 4. If the primary CHF entity needs to send a notification message, the primary CHF entity sends the notification message to the first R-CHF entity, and the first R-CHF entity forwards the notification message to the CTF entity.

[0317] As can be seen, in this embodiment, when the primary CHF entity is unable to provide billing, an R-CHF entity is dynamically introduced between the CTF entity and the primary CHF entity. This ensures normal billing when the primary CHF entity is unable to provide billing services. This simplifies the implementation of the operator network and does not affect user service usage or operator billing, thereby improving the user experience. Furthermore, to prevent normal interaction between the CTF entity and the R-CHF entity, and between the R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, capability negotiation is performed between the CTF entity and the R-CHF entity, and between the R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity.

[0318] Refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram of an interactive process of another billing method provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 is for a scenario where billing resources have been established between the CTF entity and the main CHF entity. As shown in Figure 6, the method includes:

[0319] S601: A CTF entity determines to insert a first R-CHF entity, obtains the first R-CHF entity, and generates a first charging request.

[0320] Specifically, in one example, a user uses a new service through a user device, but the main CHF entity cannot provide billing for the new service. At this time, billing relay is required, and the CTF entity determines that the first R-CHF entity needs to be inserted.

[0321] In another example, a change in the user's location causes the user device to be located in an area where the primary CHF cannot provide billing. For example, the user device moves from one operator's network coverage area to another operator's network coverage area, or the same network operator covers multiple areas and the user device moves from one area to another, resulting in the primary CHF being unable to provide billing. In this case, the CTF entity determines that the first R-CHF entity needs to be inserted. Therefore, the above-mentioned first billing request can be regarded as an insertion R-CHF request.

[0322] In another example, the current CTF cannot provide billing for the user equipment, and the CTF entity providing billing for the user equipment switches to a new CTF entity. At this time, it is also determined that an R-CHF entity needs to be inserted. The operations performed by the CTF entity in subsequent steps are performed by the new CTF entity.

[0323] When it is determined that the first R-CHF entity needs to be inserted, the CTF entity determines the address of the first R-CHF entity. The specific determination process can be found in the related description of S503 and will not be described again here.

[0324] The first billing request is a billing resource update request or a billing resource creation request. The first billing request also includes an identifier of a second billing resource generated by the primary CHF entity. The first billing request also includes billing information, where the billing information includes, but is not limited to, the identifier of the user device, the location of the user device, the user's subscribed services, the data package, and the amount of data used. Optionally, the first billing request also includes first capability information. A detailed description of the first capability information can be found in the relevant description in S502 and will not be repeated here.

[0325] S602: The CTF entity sends a first charging request to the first R-CHF entity.

[0326] S603: The first R-CHF entity performs charging processing and generates a second charging request.

[0327] Specifically, after receiving the first billing request, the first R-CHF entity caches the second billing resource indicated by the identifier of the second billing resource to facilitate subsequent billing interactions using the second billing resource. For example, the first R-CHF entity opens the first R-CHF call record and writes billing data to the first R-CHF call record based on the billing information. The first R-CHF entity generates a second billing request based on the identifier of the second billing resource. This second billing request is a request to update the second billing resource or to release Qingqingniu.

[0328] The second charging request includes an identifier of the charging resource of the CTF entity. Optionally, the second charging request also includes second capability information. The second capability information is obtained by the first R-CHF entity based on the first capability information. The specific process can be found in the description of S504 and will not be described here.

[0329] Optionally, the second charging request also carries a notification receiving address of the first R-CHF entity, which is used to update the notification address corresponding to the second charging resource on the primary CHF entity. The notification address is used by the primary CHF entity to subsequently send notification messages to the first R-CHF entity.

[0330] S604: The first R-CHF entity sends a second charging request to the primary CHF entity.

[0331] The first R-CHF entity queries the NRF entity according to the user equipment identifier or determines the address of the main CHF entity from the local configuration, and then sends a second charging request to the main CHF entity according to the address of the main CHF entity.

[0332] S605: The primary CHF entity performs charging processing and generates a second charging response message.

[0333] Specifically, the primary CHF entity obtains the billing resources of the CTF entity based on the identifier of the billing resources of the CTF entity, performs billing processing based on the billing resources of the CTF entity, including online billing processing or offline billing processing, to obtain a billing processing result, including an online billing processing result or an offline billing processing result. The primary CHF opens the primary CHF call record to write billing data and perform account balance management, such as granting quotas.

[0334] Optionally, when the first R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity belong to different operators, the main CHF entity determines whether to authorize the user equipment to use the current service based on the user's contract information; if the user equipment is authorized to use the current service, the main CHF entity performs billing processing; when it is determined that the user equipment is not authorized to use the current service, the main CHF entity does not perform billing processing.

[0335] The second charging response message includes the charging processing result. Optionally, the second charging response message includes third capability information. The process of determining the third capability information can be found in the relevant description of S507 and will not be described here.

[0336] Among them, the third capability information includes at least one of a third payload size for the billing message in the second billing resource, a third idle time for billing information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second billing resource, a third billing characteristic, or a second billing resource trigger condition setting.

[0337] S606: The primary CHF entity sends a second charging response message to the first R-CHF entity.

[0338] S607: The first R-CHF entity generates a first charging response message according to the second charging response message.

[0339] Optionally, the first charging response message includes fourth capability information. The fourth capability information includes at least one of a fourth payload size for a charging message for the first charging resource, a fourth idle time for collecting charging information for the CTF entity of the first charging resource, a fourth charging characteristic, or a trigger condition setting for the first charging resource. It should be noted that the process of determining the fourth capability information can be found in the relevant description of S508 and will not be described again here.

[0340] S608: The first R-CHF entity sends a first charging response message to the CTF entity.

[0341] S609: The CTF entity processes the service according to the first charging response message.

[0342] Specifically, processing services includes continuing to collect service billing information, such as counting service usage, or enforcing quotas.

[0343] Optionally, the first charging response message includes the fourth capability information, and the CTF entity includes the fourth capability information according to the first charging response message.

[0344] S610: The CTF entity, the first R-CHF entity, and the main CHF entity perform subsequent charging interaction.

[0345] Specifically, if the first charging request is for updating charging resources, the CTF entity obtains the updated charging resources from the first charging response message and caches them. The CTF entity, the first R-CHF entity, and the primary CHF entity perform subsequent charging interactions. The subsequent interaction process can be found in the description of S502-S510 and will not be described here. The subsequent interaction process differs from S502-S510 in that:

[0346] 1. In S504, if the trigger setting in the third capability information is inconsistent with the trigger setting sent by the first R-CHF to the CTF entity, the first R-CHF, upon receiving the trigger setting sent by the CTF entity, sends the trigger setting to the primary CHF entity and adds adjustment indication information to the message reporting the trigger setting of the CTF entity to the primary CHF entity (for example, a charging request subsequently sent by the first R-CHF entity to the primary CHF entity). The adjustment indication information is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has adjusted the trigger setting sent by the primary CHF entity.

[0347] 2. If the primary CHF entity needs to send a notification message, the primary CHF entity sends the notification message to the first R-CHF entity, and the first R-CHF entity forwards the notification message to the CTF entity.

[0348] If the first charging request is a charging resource release request, the CTF entity, the first R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity perform a charging resource release operation.

[0349] As can be seen, in this embodiment, when the primary CHF entity is unable to provide billing, an R-CHF entity is dynamically introduced between the CTF entity and the primary CHF entity. This ensures normal billing when the primary CHF entity is unable to provide billing services. This simplifies the implementation of the operator network and does not affect user service usage or operator billing, thereby improving the user experience. Furthermore, to prevent normal interaction between the CTF entity and the R-CHF entity, and between the R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, capability negotiation is performed between the CTF entity and the R-CHF entity, and between the R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity.

[0350] Referring to Figure 7, Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating another billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 7 is for a scenario where a first billing resource has been established between a CTF entity and a first R-CHF entity, and a second billing resource has been established between the first R-CHF entity and a primary CHF entity. As shown in Figure 7, the method includes:

[0351] S701: The CTF entity determines to remove the first R-CHF entity.

[0352] Specifically, when converged billing resources have been established between the CTF entity and the first R-CHF entity and between the first R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, if the location of the user equipment changes, or the service changes, or the CTF entity providing services to the user equipment changes, resulting in the primary CHF entity being able to directly provide billing services without the first R-CHF entity acting as a relay, it is determined to remove the first R-CHF entity.

[0353] S702: The CTF entity sends a remove R-CHF request to the first R-CHF entity.

[0354] The Remove R-CHF Request is used to request preparation for removal of the first R-CHF entity. The Remove R-CHF Request includes a Remove Instruction, which is used for the first R-CHF to return relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity.

[0355] S703: The first R-CHF entity sends a removal response message to the CTF entity.

[0356] The removal response message includes the relevant information of the second billing resource generated by the primary CHF, including but not limited to the identifier of the second billing resource and the address of the primary CHF entity.

[0357] Specifically, after receiving the remove R-CHF request, the first R-CHF entity sends the relevant information of the second charging resource to the CTF entity, so that the CTF entity and the main CHF entity complete subsequent charging interaction.

[0358] S704: The CTF entity generates a third charging request and sends the third charging request to the primary CHF entity.

[0359] The third charging request is a charging resource update request or a charging resource release request, which is used to request to update or release the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity.

[0360] S705: The primary CHF entity performs charging processing and generates a third charging response message.

[0361] Specifically, the primary CHF entity performs billing processing, including online billing processing or offline billing processing, based on the primary CHF's billing resources to obtain a billing processing result, including an online billing processing result or an offline billing processing result. The primary CHF opens the primary CHF call record to write billing data and perform account balance management, such as granting quotas.

[0362] After executing the charging process, the primary CHF entity generates a third charging response message, where the third charging response message includes a charging process result.

[0363] Optionally, when the R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity belong to different operators, the main CHF entity determines whether the user equipment is authorized to use the current service based on the user's contract information; if the user equipment is authorized to use the current service, the main CHF entity performs billing processing; when it is determined that the user equipment is not authorized to use the current service, the main CHF entity does not perform billing processing.

[0364] S706: The active CHF sends a third charging response message to the CTF entity.

[0365] S707: The CTF entity sends a request to release charging resources to the first R-CHF entity.

[0366] The charging resource release request is used to request the first R-CHF entity to release relevant information of the charging resources created by the first R-CHF entity, and the relevant information includes but is not limited to the charging resources created by the first R-CHF entity.

[0367] S708: The first R-CHF entity performs a release operation.

[0368] Specifically, the first R-CHF entity releases the first billing resource created by the first R-CHF entity and deletes locally stored information related to the second billing resource created by the master CHF entity. The information includes, but is not limited to, an identifier of the first billing resource created by the master CHF entity and interaction information between the first R-CHF entity and the master CHF entity.

[0369] S709: The first R-CHF entity sends a release charging resource response message to the CTF entity.

[0370] The charging resource release response message is used to respond to the charging resource release request, and the charging resource release response message is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has released relevant information of the charging resources created by the first R-CHF entity.

[0371] S710: The CTF entity and the main CHF entity perform subsequent charging interaction.

[0372] The subsequent charging interaction may be to update or release the charging resources. The specific implementation process may refer to the relevant description of S704 to S706 and will not be described here.

[0373] It should be noted that S707-S709 can be executed before or after S704. S707-S709 can be executed after S704 to verify whether normal billing can be performed between the CTF entity and the primary CHF entity after the first R-CHF entity feeds back the charging resource identifier and the address of the primary CHF entity to the CTF entity. If normal billing cannot be performed, since the first R-CHF entity has not been removed, the first R-CHF entity can continue to be used as a billing relay, thereby ensuring normal billing.

[0374] It can be seen that in this embodiment, for the scenario where billing resources have been established between the CTF entity and the R-CHF entity and billing resources have been established between the R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, when the primary CHF entity is capable of billing, the CTF entity dynamically removes the R-CHF entity, thereby simplifying the implementation of the operator's network and having no impact on the user's use of services or the operator's billing of users, thereby improving the user experience.

[0375] Refer to Figure 8, which is a flow chart of another billing method provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 is for a scenario where converged billing resources have been established between a CTF entity and a second R-CHF entity, and between the second R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity. As shown in Figure 8, the method includes:

[0376] S801: The CTF entity determines to switch to a first R-CHF entity and generates a first charging request.

[0377] When the location of the user equipment changes, or the service changes, or the CTF entity providing services to the user equipment changes, the second R-CHF entity may not be able to continue to provide billing services, and the first R-CHF entity needs to be introduced to take over the work of the second R-CHF entity. The CTF entity determines to switch to the first R-CHF entity.

[0378] The first charging request is a first charging resource update request or a first charging resource release request. The first charging request includes handover information for handover from the second R-CHF entity to the first R-CHF entity. In one example, the handover information includes handover indication information and an address or identifier of the second R-CHF entity.

[0379] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, if the CTF entity is switched, all operations related to the CTF entity in this embodiment are performed by the switched CTF entity.

[0380] S802: The CTF entity sends a first charging request to the first R-CHF entity.

[0381] Specifically, the CTF entity sends the first charging request to the first R-CHF entity according to the address of the first R-CHF entity.

[0382] It should be noted here that the manner in which the CTF entity determines the address of the first R-CHF entity can be found in the relevant description of S503 and will not be described again here.

[0383] S803: The first R-CHF entity interacts with the second R-CHF entity to transfer charging resources.

[0384] Specifically, the first R-CHF entity interacts with the second R-CHF entity based on the address or identifier of the second R-CHF entity to obtain the relevant information about the first billing resource cached in the second R-CHF entity. The first R-CHF entity obtains the relevant information about the first billing resource from the second R-CHF entity based on the switching information in the first billing request.

[0385] It should be understood that after the first R-CHF entity obtains the relevant information of the first charging resource, the second R-CHF entity deletes the locally stored charging resource and the relevant information of the charging resources of the second R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity.

[0386] When the switching information does not include the address or identifier of the second R-CHF entity, the first R-CHF entity determines the address or identifier of the second R-CHF entity from the NRF entity according to the CTF entity identifier, or according to the location information of the user equipment, or according to the location information of the user equipment and the user identifier.

[0387] S804: The first R-CHF entity performs charging processing and generates a second charging request.

[0388] S805: The first R-CHF entity sends a second charging request to the primary CHF entity.

[0389] S806: The primary CHF entity performs charging processing and generates a second charging response message.

[0390] S807: The primary CHF entity sends a second charging response message to the first R-CHF entity.

[0391] S808: The first R-CHF entity generates a first charging response message according to the second charging response message.

[0392] S809: The first R-CHF entity sends a first charging response message to the CTF entity.

[0393] S810. The CTF entity processes a service according to the first charging response message.

[0394] S811. The CTF entity, the first R-CHF entity, and the primary CHF entity perform subsequent charging interaction.

[0395] It should be noted that the specific process of S804-S811 can refer to the relevant description of S504-S511 and will not be described again here.

[0396] It can be seen that in this embodiment, for the scenario where billing resources have been established between the CTF entity and the second R-CHF entity, and billing resources have been established between the second R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, if the second R-CHF entity cannot provide a relay service between the CTF entity and the primary CHF entity, normal billing is ensured by switching the second R-CHF entity serving as a relay to the first R-CHF entity, thereby simplifying the implementation of the operator's network, without affecting the user's use of services or the operator's billing of users, and thus improving the user experience.

[0397] 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a first R-CHF entity provided in an embodiment of the present application. The first R-CHF entity is the R-CHF entity 202 in FIG1 . As shown in FIG9 , the first R-CHF entity 202 includes:

[0398] The transceiver unit 901 is configured to receive a first charging request from a charging trigger function CTF entity, where the first charging request creates, updates, or releases a first charging resource;

[0399] The transceiver unit 901 is further configured to send a second charging request to the primary CHF entity, where the second charging request is used to request creation, update, or release of a second charging resource; and receive a second charging response message sent by the primary CHF entity in response to the second charging request, where the second charging response message includes third capability information, where the third capability information is capability information determined by the primary CHF entity based on the second charging request and used for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity.

[0400] The generating unit 902 is further configured to generate a first accounting response message for responding to the first accounting request according to the second accounting response message,

[0401] The transceiver unit 901 is further configured to send a first charging response message to the CTF entity, where the first charging response message includes fourth capability information, where the fourth capability information is capability information determined by the first R-CHF based on the third capability information for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity.

[0402] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request further includes first capability information; the first capability information is capability information provided by the CTF entity and can be used for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity; the second charging request includes second capability information, the second capability information represents a capability for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity, and the second capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity based on the first capability information; and the third capability information is determined by the primary CHF entity based on the second capability information.

[0403] With reference to the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first capability information includes at least one of a first payload size of a charging message for a first charging resource supported by the CTF entity, a first idle duration for charging information collection by the CTF entity for the first charging resource, or a first charging characteristic;

[0404] The fourth capability information includes at least one of a fourth payload size of a charging message for the first charging resource, a fourth idle time for charging information collection of a CTF entity for the first charging resource, a fourth charging characteristic, or a trigger condition setting for the first charging resource;

[0405] The second capability information includes at least one of a second payload size of a charging message for a second charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity, a second idle duration for charging information collection by the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource, or a second charging characteristic;

[0406] The third capability information includes at least one of a third payload size for charging messages in the second charging resource, a third idle time for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource, a third charging characteristic, or a second charging resource trigger condition setting.

[0407] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the second capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity based on the first capability information, including:

[0408] When the first capability information includes a first payload size, the second capability information also includes a second payload size, and the second payload size is the smaller of the first payload size and the payload size of the charging message supported by the first R-CHF entity for the first charging resource; when the first capability information includes a first idle period, the second capability information also includes a second idle period, and the second idle period is the smaller of the first idle period and the idle period for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource; when the first capability information includes a first charging characteristic, the second capability information also includes a second charging characteristic, and the second charging characteristic is the intersection of the first charging characteristic and the charging characteristics supported by the first R-CHF entity.

[0409] The above method can realize capability negotiation between the CTF entity and the first R-CHF entity.

[0410] In conjunction with the third aspect, in a possible implementation,

[0411] When the third capability information includes the first payload size, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth payload size; if the second capability information includes the second payload size, the fourth payload size is the third payload size; if the second capability information does not include the second payload size, the fourth payload size is the smaller of the third payload size and the payload size of the charging message for the first charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity;

[0412] When the third capability information includes the third idle duration, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth idle duration. If the second capability information includes the third idle duration, the fourth idle duration is the third idle duration. If the second capability information does not include the second idle duration, the fourth idle duration is the smaller of the third idle duration and the idle duration for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource.

[0413] If the third capability information includes the third billing characteristic, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth billing characteristic. If the second billing characteristic is included, the fourth billing characteristic is the third billing characteristic. If the second capability information does not include the second billing characteristic, the fourth billing characteristic is the intersection of the third billing characteristic and the billing characteristics supported by the first R-CHF entity.

[0414] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the third capability information includes a second charging resource trigger condition setting, the fourth capability information also includes a first charging resource trigger condition setting, and the status information in the first charging resource trigger condition setting is a union of the status information in the second charging resource trigger condition setting and the status information of the trigger condition determined by the first R-CHF entity;

[0415] The threshold value of the trigger condition in the first charging resource trigger condition setting is the smaller one of the threshold value of the trigger condition in the second charging resource trigger condition setting and the threshold value of the trigger condition determined by the first R-CHF entity.

[0416] In conjunction with the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the first R-CHF entity 202 further includes:

[0417] The executing unit 903 is configured to execute billing processing according to the first billing request.

[0418] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request is used to request creation of a first charging resource. The first R-CHF entity 202 further includes an execution unit 903, which is configured to:

[0419] When the first billing request is used to request session-based converged billing, a first billing resource corresponding to the first billing request is generated; the first R-CHF call record in the first billing resource is opened, and the billing information in the first billing request is written into the first R-CHF call record; when the first billing request is used to request one-time event billing, a first billing resource corresponding to the first billing request is generated, and a first R-CHF call record is generated based on the first billing resource and the billing information of the first billing request, and the first R-CHF call record includes the billing information in the first billing request.

[0420] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request carries an identifier of the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity. The first R-CHF entity 202 further includes an execution unit 903, which is configured to:

[0421] A second charging request is generated according to the identifier of the second charging resource, where the second charging request is used to request updating or releasing the second charging resource.

[0422] In conjunction with the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the second charging request further carries a notification receiving address of the first R-CHF, where the notification receiving address is used to update a notification address corresponding to the second charging resource on the primary CHF entity.

[0423] The notification address is used by the primary CHF entity to subsequently send a notification message to the first R-CHF entity.

[0424] In combination with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the second charging request is used to request updating or releasing the second charging resource, and the second charging request carries adjustment indication information, which is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has adjusted the trigger condition setting issued by the main CHF entity.

[0425] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request is used to update or release the first charging resource. The first R-CHF entity 202 further includes an execution unit 903, which is configured to:

[0426] Determine a second R-CHF entity, where the second R-CHF entity is a CHF entity that provides relay capabilities for the CTF entity and the main CHF entity before the first R-CHF entity serves as a relay CHF entity; obtain relevant information about the first billing resource from the second R-CHF entity, where the first billing information is the billing resource generated by the second R-CHF entity.

[0427] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first charging request carries information about handover from the second R-CHF entity to the first R-CHF entity. In terms of obtaining relevant information about the first charging resource from the second R-CHF entity, the execution unit 903 is specifically configured to:

[0428] Obtain first charging resource information from the second R-CHF entity according to the switching information,

[0429] The generating unit 902 is further configured to generate a second charging request according to the acquired first charging resource information.

[0430] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 901 is further configured to:

[0431] receiving a remove R-CHF request sent by a CTF entity; the remove R-CHF request includes a remove indication, where the remove indication is used for the first R-CHF to return relevant information about the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity; and sending a remove response message to the CTF entity, where the remove response message includes relevant information about the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity.

[0432] In conjunction with the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the first R-CHF entity 202 further includes:

[0433] The releasing unit 904 is configured to release the first charging resource according to the remove R-CHF request, and the remove response message further includes a first charging resource release result.

[0434] It is worth noting that the specific functional implementation of the first R-CHF entity 202 is described in the above-mentioned description of the charging method. For example, the transceiver unit 901 is used to execute the relevant contents of S301-S304, and the generation unit 902, the execution unit 903, and the release unit 904 are used to execute the relevant contents of S302 and S304. Each unit or module in the first R-CHF entity 202 can be individually or completely combined into one or more other units or modules, or one or more of the units or modules can be further divided into multiple functionally smaller units or modules to achieve the same operation without affecting the technical effects of the embodiments of the present invention. The above-mentioned units or modules are divided based on logical functions. In actual applications, the functions of one unit (or module) are implemented by multiple units (or modules), and the functions of multiple units (or modules) are implemented by one unit (or module).

[0435] 10 is a schematic diagram of a CTF entity structure provided in an embodiment of the present application. The CTF entity is the CTF entity 201 in FIG2 . The CTF entity 201 includes a sending unit 1001 and a receiving unit 1002 .

[0436] A sending unit 1001 is configured to send a charging request to a first R-CHF entity. When the charging request is a request to remove the R-CHF entity based on the premise that charging resources have been established between the first R-CHF entity and the primary CHF entity, the request to remove the R-CHF entity includes a removal instruction, which is used to instruct the first R-CHF entity to return relevant information about the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity. The primary CHF entity provides online quota management and billing record generation.

[0437] A receiving unit 1002 is configured to receive a removal response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, where the removal response message includes relevant information of the second billing resource generated by the primary CHF entity, and the relevant information of the first billing resource includes a second billing resource identifier;

[0438] The sending unit 1001 is further configured to send a third charging request to the primary CHF according to the second charging resource identifier, where the third charging request is an operation request for the second charging resource.

[0439] In a possible implementation, before or after the sending unit sends the third charging request,

[0440] The sending unit 1001 is further configured to send a request to release charging resources to the first R-CHF entity, where the request is used to request the release of relevant information of charging resources created by the first R-CHF entity;

[0441] The receiving unit 1002 is further configured to receive a release charging resource response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, where the release charging resource response message is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has released relevant information of the charging resources created by the first R-CHF entity.

[0442] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation, when the charging request is an insert R-CHF request under the premise that charging resources have been established between the CTF entity and the primary CHF entity, the insert R-CHF request includes relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity;

[0443] The receiving unit 1002 is configured to receive a charging response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, where the charging response message includes a result of the first R-CHF sending a third charging request to the primary CHF according to relevant information of the second charging resource.

[0444] It is worth noting that the specific functional implementation of the CTF entity 201 refers to the description of the above-mentioned billing method, for example, the sending unit 1001 and the receiving unit 1002 are used to execute the relevant contents of S401 and S402. Each unit or module in the CTF entity 201 can be individually or completely merged into one or more other units or modules to form a structure, or one (or some) of the units or modules can be further divided into multiple functionally smaller units or modules to form a structure, which can achieve the same operation without affecting the realization of the technical effects of the embodiments of the present invention. The above-mentioned units or modules are divided based on logical functions. In actual applications, the functions of one unit (or module) are implemented by multiple units (or modules), or the functions of multiple units (or modules) are implemented by one unit (or module). Of course, the CTF entity 201 also includes a functional unit for data processing, which is not shown in the figure.

[0445] Based on the description of the above method embodiments and related device embodiments, please refer to Figure 11 , which shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a first R-CHF entity 1100 provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The first R-CHF entity 1100 shown in Figure 11 (specifically, the first R-CHF entity 1100 is a computer device) includes a memory 1101, a processor 1102, a communication interface 1103, and a bus 1104. The memory 1101, processor 1102, and communication interface 1103 are interconnected via the bus 1104.

[0446] Optionally, the memory 1101 is a read-only memory (ROM), a static storage device, a dynamic storage device or a random access memory (RAM).

[0447] The memory 1101 can store programs. When the program stored in the memory 1101 is executed by the processor 1102, the processor 1102 and the communication interface 1103 are used to execute the various steps of the billing method of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 .

[0448] The processor 1102 uses a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or one or more integrated circuits to execute relevant programs to implement the functions required to be performed by the units in the first R-CHF entity 202 in the embodiment of the present application, or to execute the billing method in the embodiment of the method of the present application.

[0449] Processor 1102 can also be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the billing method of the present application can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits or software instructions in processor 1102. Optionally, processor 1102 is a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. Processor 1102 can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor is a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. Optionally, the software module is located in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, or other mature storage medium in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory 1101. The processor 1102 reads the information in the memory 1101 and, in combination with its hardware, completes the functions required to be performed by the units included in the first R-CHF entity 202 of the embodiment of the present application, or executes the billing method of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3.

[0450] The communication interface 1103 uses a transceiver device such as, but not limited to, a transceiver to implement communication between the first R-CHF entity 1100 and other devices (such as the CTF entity 201 and the master CHF entity 203 shown in FIG2 ) or a communication network. For example, the first R-CHF entity 1100 can receive a charging response message from the master CHF entity 203 through the communication interface 1103.

[0451] The bus 1104 may include a path for transmitting information between various components of the first R-CHF entity 1100 (eg, the memory 1101 , the processor 1102 , and the communication interface 1103 ).

[0452] It should be noted that although the first R-CHF entity 1100 shown in FIG11 only shows a memory, a processor, and a communication interface, during specific implementation, those skilled in the art will understand that the first R-CHF entity 1100 also includes other components necessary for normal operation. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the first R-CHF entity 1100 may also include hardware components for implementing other additional functions, depending on specific needs. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the first R-CHF entity 1100 may only include the components necessary to implement the embodiments of the present application, and need not include all of the components shown in FIG11.

[0453] Based on the description of the above method embodiments and related device embodiments, please refer to Figure 12 , which shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a CTF entity 1200 provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The CTF entity 1200 shown in Figure 12 (specifically, a computer device) includes a memory 1201, a processor 1202, a communication interface 1203, and a bus 1204. The memory 1201, processor 1202, and communication interface 1203 are interconnected via bus 1204.

[0454] Optionally, the memory 1201 is a read-only memory (ROM), a static storage device, a dynamic storage device or a random access memory (RAM).

[0455] The memory 1201 can store programs. When the program stored in the memory 1201 is executed by the processor 1202, the processor 1202 and the communication interface 1203 are used to execute the various steps of the billing method of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 .

[0456] The processor 1202 uses a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or one or more integrated circuits to execute relevant programs to implement the functions required to be performed by the units in the CTF entity 201 in the embodiment of the present application, or to execute the billing method in the embodiment of the method of the present application.

[0457] The processor 1202 can also be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the billing method of the present application can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits or software instructions in the processor 1202. Optionally, the processor 1202 is a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The processor 1202 can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor is a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly implemented as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. Optionally, the software module is located in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, or other mature storage medium in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory 1201, and the processor 1202 reads the information in the memory 1201 and, in combination with its hardware, completes the functions required to be performed by the units included in the CTF entity 201 of the embodiment of the present application, or executes the billing method of the embodiment shown in Figure 4.

[0458] The communication interface 1203 uses a transceiver device such as, but not limited to, a transceiver to implement communication between the CTF entity 1200 and other devices (such as the first R-CHF entity 202 shown in FIG. 2 ) or a communication network. For example, the CTF entity 1200 can obtain a charging response message from the first R-CHF entity through the communication interface 1203.

[0459] The bus 1204 may include a path for transmitting information between various components of the CTF entity 1200 (eg, the memory 1201 , the processor 1202 , and the communication interface 1203 ).

[0460] It should be noted that although the CTF entity 1200 shown in FIG12 only shows a memory, a processor, and a communication interface, in a specific implementation, those skilled in the art will understand that the CTF entity 1200 also includes other components necessary for normal operation. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the CTF entity 1200 may also include hardware components that implement other additional functions, depending on specific needs. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the CTF entity 1200 may only include the components necessary to implement the embodiments of the present application, and does not necessarily need to include all of the components shown in FIG8 .

[0461] An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which includes a processor and a data interface. The processor reads instructions stored in a memory through the data interface to implement the billing method of the embodiment of the present application.

[0462] Optionally, as an implementation, the chip further includes a memory, in which instructions are stored, and the processor is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory. When the instructions are executed, the processor is used to execute the billing method.

[0463] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions. When the computer-readable storage medium is executed on a computer or a processor, the computer or processor executes one or more steps in any of the above methods.

[0464] The present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer or processor, causes the computer or processor to execute one or more steps in any of the above methods.

[0465] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the functions described in conjunction with the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and algorithm steps disclosed herein can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions described by the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and steps may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium and executed by a hardware-based processing unit. Computer-readable media may include computer-readable storage media, which corresponds to tangible media, such as data storage media, or communication media including any media that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another (e.g., based on a communication protocol). In this manner, computer-readable media may generally correspond to (1) non-transitory tangible computer-readable storage media, or (2) communication media, such as signals or carrier waves. Data storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by one or more computers or one or more processors to retrieve instructions, codes, and / or data structures for implementing the techniques described in this application. A computer program product may include computer-readable media.

[0466] By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable storage media include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Furthermore, any connection is properly referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if instructions are transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves are included in the definition of media. However, it should be understood that the computer-readable storage media and data storage media do not include connections, carrier waves, signals, or other transient media, but are actually directed to non-transitory tangible storage media. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), and Blu-ray disc. Disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also intended to be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0467] Instructions may be executed by one or more processors, such as one or more DSPs, general-purpose microprocessors, ASICs, FPGAs, or other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuits. Thus, the term "processor," as used herein, may refer to any of the aforementioned structures or any other structure suitable for implementing the techniques described herein. Additionally, in some aspects, the functionality described by the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and steps described herein is provided within dedicated hardware and / or software modules configured for encoding and decoding, or incorporated into a combined codec. Furthermore, the techniques may be fully implemented in one or more circuits or logic elements.

[0468] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the division of the unit is only a logical function division, and there are other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Optionally, the mutual coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection shown or discussed is an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, such as electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0469] Optionally, the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, i.e., located in one place, or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0470] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part.

[0471] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A charging method, characterized in that: Applied to a first relay charging function R-CHF entity, the method comprises: receiving a first charging request from a charging trigger function CTF entity, where the first charging request is used to request to create, update or release a first charging resource; Sending the second charging request to the main CHF entity according to the first charging request; the second charging request is used to request to create, update or release a second charging resource; the main CHF entity provides online quota management and charging call record generation; receiving a second charging response message sent by the primary CHF entity to respond to the second charging request, where the second charging response message includes third capability information, where the third capability information is capability information determined by the primary CHF entity according to the second charging request and used for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity; generating a first charging response message for responding to the first charging request according to the second charging response message, and sending the first charging response message to the CTF entity, where the first charging response message includes fourth capability information, where the fourth capability information is capability information determined by the first R-CHF according to the third capability information for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first charging request further includes first capability information; the first capability information is capability information provided by the CTF entity and can be used for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity; The second charging request includes second capability information, where the second capability information represents a capability for the main CHF entity to interact with the first R-CHF entity, and the second capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity according to the first capability information.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first capability information includes at least one of a first payload size of a charging message for the first charging resource supported by the CTF entity, a first idle duration for charging information collection of the CTF entity for the first charging resource, or a first charging characteristic; The fourth capability information includes at least one of a fourth payload size of a charging message for the first charging resource, a fourth idle time for charging information collection of the CTF entity for the first charging resource, a fourth charging characteristic, or a first charging resource trigger condition setting; The second capability information includes at least one of a payload size of a charging message for the second charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity, a second idle duration for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource, or a second charging characteristic; The third capability information includes at least one of a third payload size of a charging message for the second charging resource, a third idle time for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource, a third charging characteristic, or a second charging resource trigger condition setting.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The second capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity according to the first capability information, including: When the first capability information includes the first payload size, the second capability information also includes the second payload size, and the second payload size is the smaller of the first payload size and a payload size of a charging message for a first charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity; When the first capability information includes the first idle duration, the second capability information also includes the second idle duration, and the second idle duration is the smaller of the first idle duration and the idle duration for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource; When the first capability information includes the first charging characteristic, the second capability information also includes the second charging characteristic, and the second charging characteristic is an intersection of the first charging characteristic and a charging characteristic supported by the first R-CHF entity.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: When the third capability information includes the third payload size, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth payload size, and if the second capability information includes the second payload size, the fourth payload size is the third payload size; if the second capability information does not include the second payload size, the fourth payload size is the smaller of the third payload size and the payload size of the charging message for the first charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity; When the third capability information includes the third idle time length, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth idle time length. If the capability information includes the second idle time duration, the fourth idle time duration is the third idle time duration of the third capability information; If the second capability information does not include the second idle duration, the fourth idle duration is the smaller of the third idle duration and the idle duration for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource; If the third capability information includes the third charging characteristic, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth charging characteristic; if the second capability information includes the second charging characteristic, the fourth charging characteristic is the third charging characteristic; if the second capability information does not include the second charging characteristic, the fourth charging characteristic is an intersection of the third charging characteristic and the charging characteristics supported by the first R-CHF entity; If the third capability information includes a second billing resource trigger condition setting, the fourth capability information also includes a first billing resource trigger condition setting, the status information in the first billing resource trigger condition setting is the union of the status information in the second billing resource trigger condition setting and the status information of the trigger condition determined by the first R-CHF entity, and the threshold value of the trigger condition in the first billing resource trigger condition setting is the smaller of the threshold value of the trigger condition in the second billing resource trigger condition setting and the threshold value of the trigger condition determined by the first R-CHF entity.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The first charging request is used to request the creation of the first charging resource, and the method further includes: When the first charging request is used to request execution of session-based convergent charging, generating a first charging resource corresponding to the first charging request; opening a first R-CHF bill in the first charging resource, and writing the charging information in the first charging request into the first R-CHF bill; When the first billing request is used to request a one-time event billing, a first billing resource corresponding to the first billing request is generated, and the first R-CHF call record is generated according to the first billing resource and the billing information of the first billing request, wherein the first R-CHF call record includes the billing information in the first billing request.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The first charging request carries an identifier of a second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity, and the method further includes: The second charging request is generated according to the identifier of the second charging resource, where the second charging request is used to request updating or releasing the second charging resource.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The second charging request also carries a notification receiving address of the first R-CHF, where the notification receiving address is used to update a notification address corresponding to the second charging resource on the primary CHF entity.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The second charging request is used to request updating or releasing the second charging resource, and the second charging request carries adjustment indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has adjusted the trigger condition setting sent by the main CHF entity.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first charging request is used to update or release a first charging resource, and the method further comprises: Determine a second R-CHF entity, where the second R-CHF entity is a CHF entity that provides relay capability for the CTF entity and the main CHF entity before the first R-CHF entity serves as a relay CHF entity; The related information of the first charging resource is obtained from the second R-CHF entity, where the first charging information is the charging resource generated by the second R-CHF entity.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The first charging request carries switching information of the second R-CHF entity switching to the first R-CHF entity, and the acquiring relevant information of the first charging resource from the second R-CHF entity includes: acquiring relevant information of the first charging resource from the second R-CHF entity according to the switching information; The method further comprises: Generate the second billing request according to the acquired first billing resource information.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving a remove R-CHF request sent by the CTF entity; the remove R-CHF request includes a remove indication, the remove indication is used to The first R-CHF returns the relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the main CHF entity; Send a removal response message to the CTF entity, where the removal response message includes relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the main CHF entity.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first charging resource is released according to the remove R-CHF request, and the remove response message also includes a first charging resource release result.

14. A charging method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a charging trigger function CTF entity, and includes: Sending a charging request to a first relay charging function R-CHF entity; When the charging request is a request to remove R-CHF on the premise that charging resources have been established on the first relay charging function R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity, the request to remove R-CHF includes a removal indication, and the removal indication is used for the first R-CHF to return the relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the main CHF entity; the main CHF entity provides online quota management and charging call record generation; The method further includes: receiving a removal response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, the removal response message including relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity, the relevant information including the second charging resource identifier; A third charging request is sent to the primary CHF according to the second charging resource identifier, where the third charging request is an operation request for the second charging resource.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that When the charging request is an insert R-CHF request under the premise that charging resources have been established on the CTF entity and the primary CHF entity, the insert R-CHF request includes relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity; The method further includes: receiving a charging response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, wherein the charging response message includes a result of the first R-CHF sending the third charging request to the primary CHF according to relevant information of the second charging resource.

16. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that Before or after sending the third charging request, the method further includes: Sending a request for releasing charging resources to the first R-CHF entity, where the request for releasing charging resources is used to request the release of relevant information of charging resources created by the first R-CHF entity; A charging resource release response message sent by the first R-CHF entity is received, where the charging resource release response message is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has released relevant information of the charging resources created by the first R-CHF entity.

17. A first relay charging function R-CHF entity, characterized in that: include: A transceiver unit, configured to receive a first charging request from a charging trigger function CTF entity, wherein the first charging request creates, updates or releases a first charging resource; The transceiver unit is further configured to send a second charging request to the primary CHF entity; the second charging request is used to request to create, update or release a second charging resource; receive a second charging response message sent by the primary CHF entity to respond to the second charging request, the second charging response message including third capability information, the third capability information being capability information determined by the primary CHF entity according to the second charging request for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity; The generating unit is further configured to generate a first charging response message for responding to the first charging request according to the second charging response message; the first charging response message includes fourth capability information, and the fourth capability information is capability information determined by the first R-CHF according to the third capability information for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity. The transceiver unit is further configured to send the first charging response message to the CTF entity, 18. The R-CHF entity according to claim 17, characterized in that The first charging request further includes first capability information; the first capability information is capability information provided by the CTF entity and can be used for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity; The second charging request includes second capability information, where the second capability information indicates a capability for the primary CHF entity to interact with the first R-CHF entity, and the second capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity according to the first capability information; and the third capability information is determined by the primary CHF entity according to the second capability information.

19. The R-CHF entity according to claim 18, characterized in that The first capability information includes at least one of a payload size of a charging message for the first charging resource supported by the CTF entity, a first idle duration for charging information collection of the CTF entity for the first charging resource, or a charging characteristic; The fourth capability information includes at least one of a payload size of a charging message for a first charging resource, a fourth idle duration for charging information collection of a CTF entity for the first charging resource, a charging characteristic, or a first charging resource trigger condition setting; The second capability information includes at least one of a payload size for a charging message in a second charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity, a second idle duration for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource, or a charging characteristic; The third capability information includes at least one of a payload size of a charging message for the second charging resource, a third idle duration for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource, a charging characteristic, or a second charging resource trigger condition setting.

20. The R-CHF entity according to claim 19, characterized in that The second capability information is determined by the first R-CHF entity according to the first capability information, including: When the first capability information includes the first payload size, the second capability information also includes the second payload size, and the second payload size is the smaller of the first payload size and a payload size of a charging message for a second charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity; When the first capability information includes the first idle duration, the second capability information also includes the second idle duration, and the second idle duration is the smaller of the first idle duration and the idle duration for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource; When the first capability information includes the first charging characteristic, the second capability information also includes the second charging characteristic, and the second charging characteristic is an intersection of the first charging characteristic and a charging characteristic supported by the first R-CHF entity.

21. The R-CHF entity according to claim 19, characterized in that: When the third capability information includes the third payload size, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth payload size, and if the second capability information includes the second payload size, the fourth payload size is the third payload size; if the second capability information does not include the second payload size, the fourth payload size is the smaller of the third payload size and the payload size of the charging message for the first charging resource supported by the first R-CHF entity; When the third capability information includes the third idle duration, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth idle duration, and if the second capability information includes the second idle duration, the fourth idle duration is the third idle duration of the third capability information; If the second capability information does not include the second idle duration, the fourth idle duration is the smaller of the third idle duration and the idle duration for charging information collection of the first R-CHF entity for the second charging resource; If the third capability information includes the third charging characteristic, the fourth capability information also includes the fourth charging characteristic; if the second capability information includes the second charging characteristic, the fourth charging characteristic is the third charging characteristic; if the second capability information does not include the second charging characteristic, the fourth charging characteristic is an intersection of the third charging characteristic and the charging characteristics supported by the first R-CHF entity; The third capability information includes the second charging resource trigger condition setting, the fourth capability information also includes the first charging resource trigger condition setting, and the state information in the first charging resource trigger condition setting is a union of the state information in the second charging resource trigger condition setting and the state information of the trigger condition determined by the first R-CHF entity; The threshold value of the trigger condition in the first charging resource trigger condition setting is the smaller one of the threshold value of the trigger condition in the second charging resource trigger condition setting and the threshold value of the trigger condition determined by the first R-CHF entity.

22. The R-CHF entity according to any one of claims 17 to 21, characterized in that The first charging request is used to request the creation of the first charging resource, and the first R-CHF entity includes an execution unit, and the execution unit is used to: When the first charging request is used to request execution of session-based convergent charging, generating a first charging resource corresponding to the first charging request; opening a first R-CHF bill in the first charging resource, and writing the charging information in the first charging request into the first R-CHF bill; When the first billing request is used to request a one-time event billing, a first billing resource corresponding to the first billing request is generated, and the first R-CHF call record is generated according to the first billing resource and the billing information of the first billing request, wherein the first R-CHF call record includes the billing information in the first billing request.

23. The R-CHF entity according to any one of claims 17 to 21, characterized in that The first charging request carries an identifier of a second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity, and the first R-CHF entity further includes an execution unit, which is configured to: The second charging request is generated according to the identifier of the second charging resource, where the second charging request is used to request updating or releasing the second charging resource.

24. The R-CHF entity according to claim 23, characterized in that The second charging request also carries a notification receiving address of the first R-CHF, where the notification receiving address is used to update a notification address corresponding to the second charging resource on the primary CHF entity.

25. The R-CHF entity according to any one of claims 17 to 21, characterized in that The second charging request is used to request updating or releasing the second charging resource, and the second charging request carries adjustment indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has adjusted the trigger condition setting sent by the main CHF entity.

26. The R-CHF entity according to any one of claims 17 to 21, wherein the first charging request is used to update or release the first charging resource, and the first R-CHF entity further comprises an execution unit, wherein the execution unit is configured to: Determine a second R-CHF entity, where the second R-CHF entity is a CHF entity that provides relay capability for the CTF entity and the main CHF entity before the first R-CHF entity serves as a relay CHF entity; The related information of the first charging resource is obtained from the second R-CHF entity, where the first charging information is the charging resource generated by the second R-CHF entity.

27. The R-CHF entity according to claim 26, characterized in that The first charging request carries switching information of the second R-CHF entity switching to the first R-CHF entity, and in the aspect of acquiring the relevant information of the first charging resource from the second R-CHF entity, the execution unit is specifically configured to: acquiring the first charging resource information from the second R-CHF according to the switching information, The generating unit is further configured to generate the second charging request according to the acquired first charging resource information.

28. The R-CHF entity according to any one of claims 17 to 27, characterized in that The transceiver unit is also used for: receiving a remove R-CHF request sent by the CTF entity; the remove R-CHF request including a remove indication, where the remove indication is used by the first R-CHF to return relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the main CHF entity; Send a removal response message to the CTF entity, where the removal response message includes relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the main CHF entity.

29. The R-CHF entity according to claim 28, characterized in that The R-CHF entity further comprises: A releasing unit is used to release the first charging resource according to the remove R-CHF request, and the remove response message also includes the first charging resource release result.

30. A charging trigger function CTF entity, characterized in that: include: a sending unit, configured to send a charging request to the CTF entity, When the charging request is a request to remove R-CHF on the premise that charging resources have been established on the first relay charging function R-CHF entity and the main CHF entity; the request to remove R-CHF includes a removal indication, and the removal indication is used to instruct the first R-CHF to return the relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the main CHF entity; The main CHF entity provides online quota management and billing record generation; The CTF entity also includes: a receiving unit, configured to receive a removal response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, wherein the removal response message includes relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the primary CHF entity, and the relevant information includes an identifier of the second charging resource; The sending unit is further configured to send a third charging request to the primary CHF according to the second charging resource identifier, where the third charging request is an operation request for the second charging resource.

31. The CTF entity according to claim 30, characterized in that: When the charging request is an insert R-CHF request based on the premise that charging resources have been established between the CTF entity and the main CHF entity, The insert R-CHF request includes relevant information of the second charging resource generated by the main CHF entity; The CTF entity also includes: A receiving unit is configured to receive a charging response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, wherein the charging response message includes a result of the R-CHF sending a third charging request to the primary CHF according to relevant information of the second charging resource.

32. The CTF entity according to claim 30, characterized in that: before or after sending the third charging request; The sending unit is further used to send a request to release charging resources to the first R-CHF entity, where the request to release charging resources is used to request to release relevant information of charging resources created by the first R-CHF entity; The receiving unit is further configured to receive a release charging resource response message sent by the first R-CHF entity, where the release charging resource response message is used to indicate that the first R-CHF entity has released relevant information of the charging resources created by the first R-CHF entity.

33. A charging method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a charging system, the charging system comprising a first relay charging function R-CHF entity, a charging trigger function CTF entity and a main CHF entity, and the method comprises: The CTF entity sends a first charging request to the first R-CHF entity, where the first charging request is used to request to create, update or release a first charging resource; The first R-CHF entity sends the second charging request to the main CHF entity; the second charging request is used to request to create, update or release a second charging resource; the main CHF entity provides online quota management and charging call record generation; The primary CHF entity performs charging processing according to the second charging request, and generates a second charging response message for responding to the second charging request; sends the second charging response message to the first R-CHF entity, where the second charging response message includes third capability information, where the third capability information is capability information determined by the primary CHF according to the second charging request for interaction between the primary CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity; The first R-CHF entity generates a first charging response message for responding to the first charging request according to the second charging response message, and sends the first charging response message to the CTF entity, where the first charging response message includes fourth capability information, where the fourth capability information is capability information determined by the first R-CHF according to the third capability information and used for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity; The CTF entity performs charging processing according to the first charging response message.

34. A billing system, characterized in that: The charging system comprises a first relay charging function R-CHF entity, a charging trigger function CTF entity and a main CHF entity, The CTF entity is used to send a first charging request to the first R-CHF entity, where the first charging request is used to request to create, update or release a first charging resource; The first R-CHF entity is used to send the second charging request to the main CHF entity; the second charging request is used to request to create, update or release the second charging resource; the main CHF entity provides online quota management and charging call record generation; The master CHF entity is configured to perform charging processing according to the second charging request and generate a second charging response message for responding to the second charging request; send the second charging response message to the first R-CHF entity, where the second charging response message includes third capability information, where the third capability information is capability information determined by the master CHF according to the second charging request for interaction between the master CHF entity and the first R-CHF entity; the first R-CHF entity, configured to generate a first charging response message for responding to the first charging request according to the second charging response message, and send the first charging response message to the CTF entity, where the first charging response message includes fourth capability information, where the fourth capability information is capability information determined by the first R-CHF according to the third capability information and used for interaction between the first R-CHF entity and the CTF entity; The CTF entity is used to perform charging processing according to the first charging response message.

35. A first R-CHF entity, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store program codes, and the processor is used to execute the program codes to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

36. A CTF entity, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store program codes, and the processor is used to execute the program codes to implement the method according to any one of claims 14 to 16.

37. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is implemented.

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