Network service use mehtod, and apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a network service use method and an apparatus. The method comprises: acquiring first configuration information, the first configuration information comprising information used for indicating a first network service interface, the first network service interface being an invocation interface of a first network service provided by a network for a terminal device, and the first network service being a non-connection service; and sending a first request on the basis of the first configuration information, the first request being used for requesting to use the first network service by means of the first network service interface.

Description

Method and apparatus for using network service

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410869199.5, filed on June 28, 2024, and entitled "Method and apparatus for using network service", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for using network service. BACKGROUND

[0003] In the development history of mobile networks, the primary problem to be solved and optimized is to provide ubiquitous access services for users. Based on the access services provided by the mobile network system, users can quickly and reliably transmit various service data packets between terminal devices and data networks (DN).

[0004] With the development of mobile networks, future mobile networks can not only provide connection services for terminal devices, but also provide non-connection services such as computing offloading, data processing, data storage, and sensing for terminal devices. Therefore, there is an urgent need to provide a method that can enable terminal devices to use non-connection services. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a method and apparatus for using network service, which can enable terminal devices to use non-connection services and improve the flexibility of network service usage, thereby improving the user experience of terminal devices.

[0006] In a first aspect, a method for using network service is provided, which is executed by a terminal device or a chip or circuit applicable to the terminal device. The method includes: obtaining first configuration information, the first configuration information including information indicating a first network service interface, the first network service interface being an invocation interface of a first network service provided by a network for a terminal device, and the first network service being a non-connection service; and based on the first configuration information, sending a first request, the first request being used to request to use the first network service through the invocation of the first network service interface.

[0007] In the embodiments of the present application, by configuring the network service interface, the terminal device can use the network service through the network service interface based on the information of the network service interface, which realizes the offloading of the non-connection service of the terminal device to the network, thereby realizing the end-to-network cloud collaboration. In this way, the processing burden of the terminal device is reduced, the flexibility of network service usage is improved, and the user experience of the terminal device is improved.

[0008] In some implementations of the first aspect, the first configuration information is received from a first network element or an application server, the first network element providing the first network service interface control function.

[0009] According to the implementation, the terminal device can receive the first configuration information from the network element providing the first network service interface control function or the application server, and then use the network service based on the first configuration information.

[0010] In some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes obtaining second configuration information, the second configuration information being used to indicate a usage rule of the terminal device for the first network service; and the sending the first request based on the first configuration information includes sending the first request based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0011] According to the implementation, the terminal device can request to use the network service based on the information of the first network service interface and the usage rule of the first network service.

[0012] In some implementations of the first aspect, the obtaining the second configuration information includes receiving the second configuration information from a first network element, the first network element providing the first network service interface control function.

[0013] According to the implementation, the terminal device can obtain the second configuration information from the network element providing the first network service interface control function, and then request to use the network service based on the second configuration information.

[0014] In some implementations of the first aspect, the usage rule includes information used to indicate a first mapping relationship, the first mapping relationship including a mapping relationship between a local application program interface of the terminal device and the first network service interface.

[0015] According to the implementation, when an APP on the terminal device calls a local service interface of the terminal device, the terminal device can convert the call request for the local service interface into a usage request for the network service interface based on the mapping relationship between the local service interface of the terminal device and the network service interface. The non-connection service can be used by calling the network service interface corresponding to the local service interface. Thus, the APP does not need to perceive the non-connection service, but can use the non-connection service provided by the network.

[0016] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the obtaining the second configuration information comprises: receiving the second configuration information from an application server or a first network element, the first network element being a network element providing the first network service interface control function.

[0017] Based on this implementation, the terminal device can receive the second configuration information from the network element providing the first network service interface control function, or the terminal device can receive the second configuration information from the application server, and then the terminal device can use the network service based on the second configuration information.

[0018] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the second configuration information comprises control plane information, the control plane information being used to indicate a control plane parameter of the first network service interface; and the sending the first request comprises: sending the first request through control plane signaling, the control plane signaling carrying indication information of the first network service.

[0019] Based on this implementation, the APP on the terminal device can request to use the network service through the control plane signaling.

[0020] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the control plane parameter comprises at least one of: a mapping relationship between identification information of the terminal device and the first network service interface; an identification of the first network service; a type of the first network service; or information of a service processing function network element, the service processing function network element being used to provide the first network service.

[0021] Based on this implementation, the network side can identify which non-connection service the terminal device requests to use, and then provide the terminal device with the non-connection service.

[0022] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the usage rule comprises user plane information, the user plane information being used to indicate a mapping relationship between a session parameter and the first network service interface; and the method further comprises: based on the user plane information, establishing a user plane session between the terminal device and a second network element, the second network element being a network element providing a user plane function; and the sending the first request comprises: sending the first request to the second network element.

[0023] Based on this implementation, the APP on the terminal device can request to use the network service in the form of user plane data.

[0024] In some implementations of the first aspect, the usage rule comprises at least one of: a protocol type used when using the first network service; a usage manner used when using the first network service; a usage parameter used when using the first network service; a message format used when using the first network service; a charging rule of the first network service interface; information of a terminal device associated with the first network service interface; or information of an application program (APP) associated with the first network service interface.

[0025] According to the implementation, when the second configuration information comprises the protocol type used when using the first network service, the terminal device can know which protocol type is used to use the first network service.

[0026] When the second configuration information comprises the usage manner used when using the first network service, the terminal device can know which operation is used to use the first network service.

[0027] When the second configuration information comprises the usage parameter used when using the first network service, the terminal device can know which parameter needs to be carried in a request for using the first network service.

[0028] When the second configuration information comprises the message format used when using the first network service, the terminal device can know which message format is used to use the first network service.

[0029] When the second configuration information comprises the charging rule of the first network service interface, the terminal device can know a charging standard when using the first network service.

[0030] When the second configuration information comprises the information of the terminal device associated with the first network service interface, the terminal device can know which conditions the terminal device itself needs to meet when requesting to use the first network service. That is, the terminal device can determine whether the terminal device itself can request to use the first network service according to the information of the terminal device associated with the first network service interface.

[0031] When the second configuration information comprises the information of the application program (APP) associated with the first network service interface, the terminal device can know which APPs can request to use the first network service.

[0032] In some implementations of the first aspect, the first network service comprises at least one of: a network service for providing network data; a network service for providing data processing; a network service for providing an intelligent agent; or a network service for providing data storage and reading.

[0033] Based on the implementation manner, when the first network service is a network service for providing network data, the terminal device can invoke the non-connection service for providing network data through the first network service interface, without the terminal device performing data sensing or measurement by itself, but the terminal device can obtain data sensed or measured by the network side, so that the terminal device can obtain data information with strong real-time performance and high accuracy, and the burden of data sensing or measurement of the terminal device can be reduced.

[0034] When the first network service is a network service for providing data processing, the terminal device can use the non-connection service for providing data processing through the first network service interface, so as to offload the local data processing task to the network side, thereby reducing the data processing burden of the terminal device.

[0035] When the first network service is a network service for providing an agent, the terminal device can use the non-connection service for providing an agent through the first network service interface, so that the terminal device can use a more optimal agent or AI model of the mobile network to perform a task, thereby the task can be hosted to the network side for execution, a better intelligent service than the terminal device locally or a better user experience can be obtained.

[0036] When the first network service is a network service for providing data storage, the terminal device can use the non-connection service for providing data storage through the first network service interface, and store local data to the network side, thereby saving the local storage space of the terminal device.

[0037] In a second aspect, another method for using a non-connection service is provided, executed by a first network element or a chip in the first network element, the first network element being a network element providing a network service interface control function, and the method comprising: determining first configuration information, the first configuration information comprising information for indicating a first network service interface, the first network service interface being an invocation interface of a first network service provided by a network for a terminal device, the first network service being a non-connection service; and sending the first configuration information.

[0038] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the method further comprises: determining second configuration information, the second configuration information being used for indicating a usage rule of the first network service by the terminal device; and sending the second configuration information. With reference to the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the usage rule comprises information for indicating a first mapping relationship, the first mapping relationship comprising a mapping relationship between a local application program interface of the terminal device and the first network service interface; the sending the first configuration information comprises: sending the first configuration information to the terminal device; and the sending the second configuration information comprises: sending the second configuration information to the terminal device.

[0039] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving a second request from the application server, the second request being used to request customization of the first network service; the sending the first configuration information includes: sending the first configuration information to the application server or the terminal device based on the second request; and the sending the second configuration information includes: sending the second configuration information to the application server or the terminal device based on the second request.

[0040] Based on the implementation, the application server can actively request the network side to customize the first network service, and then the network side performs customization of the non-connection service based on the second request of the application server.

[0041] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the usage rule includes control plane information, the control plane information being used to indicate a control plane parameter of the first network service interface.

[0042] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the control plane parameter includes at least one of: a mapping relationship between identification information of the terminal device and the first network service interface; an identification of the first network service; a type of the first network service; or information of a service processing function network element, the service processing function network element being used to provide the first network service.

[0043] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second configuration information includes user plane information, the user plane information being used to indicate a mapping relationship between a session parameter and the first network service interface.

[0044] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the usage rule further includes at least one of: a protocol type used when using the first network service; a usage manner used when using the first network service; a usage parameter used when using the first network service; a message format used when using the first network service; a charging rule of the first network service interface; identification information of a terminal device associated with the first network service interface; or information of an application program (APP) associated with the first network service interface.

[0045] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending the first configuration information and third configuration information to a third network element, the third configuration information being used to indicate a forwarding rule for a first request from the terminal device, the third network element being a network element providing a message forwarding function, the first request being used to request use of the first network service through the first network service interface.

[0046] Based on the implementation manner, the third network element can forward the first request based on the forwarding rule in the third configuration information when receiving the first request from the terminal device.

[0047] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the third configuration information further indicates a mapping relationship between information of the first network service interface and an identifier of a service processing function network element, and the service processing function network element is configured to provide the first network service.

[0048] Based on the implementation manner, the third network element can forward the first request based on the forwarding rule in the third configuration information when receiving the first request from the terminal device.

[0049] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first network service includes at least one of the following: a network service configured to provide network data; a network service configured to provide data processing; a network service configured to provide an intelligent agent; or a network service configured to provide data storage and reading.

[0050] In a third aspect, another method for using a network service is provided, which is executed by a third network element or a chip in the third network element, the third network element being a network element configured to provide a message forwarding function, and the method includes: receiving a first request from a terminal device, the first request being configured to request to use a first network service through a first network service interface, the first network service being a non-connection service provided by a network for the terminal device; and forwarding the first request based on first configuration information and third configuration information, the first configuration information including information configured to indicate the first network service interface, the first network service interface being an invocation interface of the first network service, and the third configuration information being configured to indicate a forwarding rule for the first request from the terminal device.

[0051] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving the first configuration information and the third configuration information from a first network element, the first network element being a network element configured to provide a first network service interface control function.

[0052] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the third configuration information further indicates a mapping relationship between information of the first network service interface and an identifier of a service processing function network element, and the service processing function network element is configured to provide the first network service.

[0053] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the first network service comprises at least one of: a network service for providing network data; a network service for providing data processing; a network service for providing an intelligent agent; or a network service for providing data storage and reading.

[0054] In a fourth aspect, another method for using a network service is provided, which is performed by an application server or a chip in the application server, and the method comprises: sending a second request to a first network element, the second request being used for requesting customization of a first network service, the first network service being a non-connection service provided by a network for a terminal device, and the first network element being a network element that provides an interface control function for the first network service; and receiving first configuration information and second configuration information from the first network element, the first configuration information comprising information used for indicating a first network service interface provided by the network for the terminal device, the first network service interface being an invocation interface of the first network service, and the second configuration information being used for indicating a usage rule of the first network service by the terminal device.

[0055] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the second configuration information comprises information used for indicating a first mapping relationship, and the first mapping relationship comprises a mapping relationship between a local application program interface of the terminal device and the first network service interface.

[0056] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the second configuration information comprises control plane information, and the control plane information is used for indicating a control plane parameter of the first network service interface.

[0057] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the control plane information is used for indicating at least one of: a mapping relationship between identification information of the terminal device and the first network service interface; an identity of the first network service; or a type of the first network service.

[0058] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the second configuration information comprises user plane information, and the user plane information is used for indicating a mapping relationship between a session parameter and the first network service interface.

[0059] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, the second configuration information further comprises at least one of: a protocol type used when using the first network service; a usage manner used when using the first network service; a usage parameter used when using the first network service; a message format used when using the first network service; a charging rule of the first network service interface; information of a terminal device associated with the first network service interface; or information of an application (APP) associated with the first network service interface.

[0060] Optionally, the information of the APP comprises at least one of an identifier of the APP, a destination address of the APP, a port number of the APP, or a transmission protocol used by the APP.

[0061] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, the method further comprises: sending the first configuration information and the second configuration information to the terminal device.

[0062] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, the second request further carries identification information of the terminal device and / or identification information of an APP allowed to use the first network service.

[0063] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, the first network service comprises at least one of: a network service for providing network data; a network service for providing data processing; a network service for providing an intelligent agent; or a network service for providing data storage and reading.

[0064] In a fifth aspect, a network service usage apparatus is provided, configured to perform the method in any possible implementation manner of the above aspects. Specifically, the apparatus comprises units for performing the method in any possible implementation manner of the above aspects.

[0065] In one design, the apparatus can include a module corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the above aspects, which can be hardware circuitry, software, or a combination of hardware circuitry and software.

[0066] In a sixth aspect, a network service usage apparatus is provided, comprising a processor coupled to a memory, and configured to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation manner of the above aspects. Optionally, the apparatus further comprises the memory. Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0067] In an implementation form, the apparatus is a terminal device, the first network element or the third network element. When the apparatus is a terminal device, the first network element or the third network element, the communication interface can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0068] In another implementation form, the apparatus is a chip for the terminal device, the first network element or the third network element. When the apparatus is a chip for the terminal device, the first network element or the third network element, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0069] In a seventh aspect, a processor is provided, comprising an input circuit, an output circuit and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that the processor performs the method in any possible implementation of the aspects above.

[0070] In a specific implementation process, the processor can be a chip, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be a transistor, a gate circuit, a flip-flop and various logic circuits, etc. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example but not limited to, a receiver, the output signal output by the output circuit can be output to and transmitted by, for example but not limited to, a transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit which is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0071] In an eighth aspect, a processing apparatus is provided, comprising a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to read instructions stored in the memory, and can receive a signal through a receiver and transmit a signal through a transmitter to perform the method in any possible implementation of the aspects above.

[0072] Optionally, the processor is one or more, and the memory is one or more.

[0073] Optionally, the memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor can be separately arranged.

[0074] In a specific implementation process, the memory can be a non-transitory memory, for example, a read only memory (ROM), which can be integrated on the same chip with the processor, or can be separately arranged on different chips. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of memory and the arrangement of the memory and the processor.

[0075] It should be understood that the relevant data interaction process, for example, sending indication information, can be a process of outputting indication information from the processor, and receiving capability information can be a process of receiving input capability information by the processor. Specifically, the processed output data can be output to a transmitter, and the input data received by the processor can come from a receiver. Among them, the transmitter and the receiver can be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

[0076] The processing device in the eighth aspect described above can be a chip, and the processor can be implemented by hardware or software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, which is implemented by reading software codes stored in a memory. The memory can be integrated in the processor or exist independently outside the processor.

[0077] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a device for implementing the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, a device for implementing the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, and a device for implementing the method of the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0078] Optionally, the communication system described above can further include a device for implementing the method of the fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect.

[0079] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), which, when executed, causes a computer to perform the method in any possible implementation of the aspects described above.

[0080] In an eleventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method in any possible implementation of the aspects described above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0081] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0082] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0083] FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for using a network service according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0084] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device and a network side.

[0085] FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of another method for using a network service according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0086] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device and a network side.

[0087] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a control plane protocol stack of an embodiment of the present application.

[0088] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of another control plane protocol stack of an embodiment of the present application.

[0089] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of yet another control plane protocol stack of an embodiment of the present application.

[0090] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack of an embodiment of the present application.

[0091] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of another user plane protocol stack of an embodiment of the present application.

[0092] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of yet another user plane protocol stack of an embodiment of the present application.

[0093] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus of an embodiment of the present application.

[0094] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of another communication apparatus of an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0095] Embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0096] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example, a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD), a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), a 5th generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), a future communication system, a satellite access system, or other evolved communication systems, etc.

[0097] The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), an access terminal device, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile terminal, a remote station, a remote terminal device, a mobile device, a user terminal device, a terminal device, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user apparatus, etc.

[0098] The terminal device can be a device that provides voice / data connectivity to a user, for example, a handheld device with wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. Currently, some examples of terminal devices are: mobile phone, tablet computer, notebook computer, palm computer, mobile internet device (MID), wearable device, virtual reality (VR) device, augmented reality (AR) device, wireless terminal device in industrial control, wireless terminal device in self driving, wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal device in smart grid, wireless terminal device in transportation safety, wireless terminal device in smart city, wireless terminal device in smart home, cellular phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication function, computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, vehicle-mounted device, wearable device, terminal device in a 5G network, or terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0099] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be a wearable device. The wearable device can also be referred to as a wearable smart device, which is a general term for devices that are designed and developed by applying wearable technology to daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. The wearable device is a portable device that is directly worn on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also a device that realizes powerful functions through software support and data interaction and cloud interaction. The general wearable smart device includes devices with full functions, large size, and the ability to realize complete or partial functions without relying on a smart phone, such as smart watches or smart glasses, and devices that focus on a certain application function and need to be used in cooperation with other devices, such as smart phones, such as various smart wristbands and smart jewelry for monitoring vital signs.

[0100] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be a terminal device in an internet of things (IoT) system. The IoT is an important part of future information technology development, and its main technical feature is to connect objects through communication technology and network, so as to realize the intelligent network of man-machine interconnection and object-object interconnection.

[0101] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, first, the system architecture suitable for the embodiments of the present application is described in detail in combination with FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the system architecture 100 includes a terminal device 110, an API control function network element 120, and a gateway 130.

[0102] The API control function network element 120 is a network element that provides network service interface control function. The terminal device 110 can initiate a service usage request through the gateway 130 to request to use a certain non-connection service through a network service interface. The gateway 130 is a network element that provides message forwarding function. Specifically, the gateway 130 can forward the request from the terminal device 120 based on the configured forwarding rule, so as to forward the request of the terminal device 120 to a network element that can provide the non-connection service, and realize the use of the non-connection service by the terminal device 120. Specifically, the API control function network element 120 can configure the terminal device 110 with information of the network service interface and / or usage rules of the network service, and the terminal device 110 can use the network service based on the information of the network service interface and / or the usage rules of the network service. In addition, the API control function network element 120 can also configure the gateway 130 with the information of the network service interface and the message forwarding rule, and the gateway 130 can forward the request from the terminal device 110 based on the information of the network service interface and the message forwarding rule.

[0103] Optionally, the system architecture 100 described above further includes an application server 140. The application server 140 can initiate a service customization request to the API control function network element 120, and request to customize a network service interface for a certain non-connection service of a certain APP on the terminal device 110, so as to facilitate the APP on the terminal device 110 to use the non-connection service through the customized network service interface.

[0104] It should be understood that the API control function network element 120 can be an access network element or a core network device, and embodiments of the present application do not limit this. For example, the API control function network element 120 can be a standalone network element, or can be arranged in an existing network element, such as a base station, that is, the network service interface control function is implemented through a functional module in the base station, or the API control function network element 120 can be an access and mobility management function (AMF), a policy control function (PCF), a network repository function (NRF), and the like in the core network.

[0105] It should also be understood that the gateway 130 can be an access network element or a core network device, and embodiments of the present application do not limit this. For example, the gateway 130 can be a standalone network element, or can be arranged in an existing network element, such as a base station, that is, the forwarding function of the gateway is implemented through a functional module in the base station, or a user plane function (UPF), that is, the forwarding function of the gateway is implemented through a functional module in the UPF, or a service communication proxy (SCP), and the like.

[0106] It should be noted that the names of the various network elements (such as API control function network element, gateway) included in FIG. 1 are also only an example, and do not limit the functions of the network elements themselves. In future other networks, the above-mentioned various network elements can also be other names, and embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0107] FIG. 2 is another system architecture 200 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2, the system architecture 200 can specifically include the following network elements:

[0108] 1. UE. The UE can access the core network through an access network element and communicate with the network side. The UE can be understood as an example of a terminal device.

[0109] 2、(Radio) Access Network ((R)AN): mainly corresponds to an access network element, responsible for radio resource management, uplink and downlink data classification and quality of service (QoS) application, and signaling processing with the control plane network element, and data forwarding with the user plane function network element, etc. For example, the access network element can be a base station, a broadband network gateway (BNG), a convergence switch, a non-3GPP access device, etc. The base station can include various forms of base stations, such as: a macro base station, a micro base station (also known as a small station), a relay station, an access point, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations. For the device of the terminal device accessing the core network, it is uniformly referred to as an access network element in the text, and will not be described. For example, the access network element can be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) device in a 4G network, a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) device in a 5G network, or a satellite, etc.

[0110] Exemplarily, the access network element can be: a gNB, a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved NodeB (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a NodeB (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (for example, a home evolved NodeB, or a home NodeB, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP), etc.

[0111] In yet another example, the access network network element can also be a device including a centralized unit (CU) node, or including a distributed unit (DU) node, or including both a CU node and a DU node. For example, the access network network element can be logically divided into a CU and a DU, with some protocol layers' functions being centrally controlled at the CU and the rest or all protocol layers' functions being distributed in the DU and controlled by the CU. Further, the centralized unit CU can also be divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP). In different systems, the CU (including CU-CP or CU-UP), or the DU can also have different names. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, and the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP.

[0112] 3. Access and mobility management function (AMF): mainly used for mobility management and access management, etc. Specifically, the AMF can be used to implement functions of a mobility management entity (MME) except for session management, such as functions of lawful monitoring (or lawful interception), or access authorization (or authentication), etc.

[0113] 4. Session management function (SMF): mainly used for session management, allocation and management of an internet protocol (IP) address of a terminal device, selection of a manageable user plane function, a terminal point of a policy control or a charging function interface, and downlink data notification, etc.

[0114] 5. User plane function (UPF): used for packet routing and forwarding, or quality of service (QoS) processing of a user plane, etc.

[0115] 6. Data network (DN): used for providing a network for transmitting data, such as an Internet network, etc.

[0116] 7. Authentication server function (AUSF): mainly used for user authentication, etc.

[0117] 8. Network Exposure Function (NEF): responsible for opening network data to the outside.

[0118] 9. Network Repository Function (NRF): supports service discovery function, and can register and manage network functions (NFs).

[0119] 10. Policy Control Function (PCF): a unified policy framework for guiding network behavior, providing policy rule information, etc. for control plane function network elements (such as AMF, SMF network elements, etc.).

[0120] 11. Unified Data Management (UDM): used for processing user identification, user subscription data, access authentication, registration, or mobility management, etc.

[0121] 12. Application Function (AF): mainly supports interaction with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) core network to provide services, such as affecting data routing decisions, policy control functions, or providing some services of third parties to the network side. It can be understood as a third-party server, such as an application server in the Internet, providing relevant business information, including providing service quality requirement information corresponding to the business to the PCF, and sending user plane data information of the business to the PSA-UPF. The AF can be a content provider (CP).

[0122] 13. Orchestration function network element: used for orchestrating and scheduling combinations of multiple function network elements, thereby providing more flexible customized non-connection services.

[0123] In the system architecture 200, the UE can communicate with the AMF through an N1 interface, the RAN can communicate with the AMF through an N2 interface, the RAN can also communicate with the UPF through an N3 interface, the UPF can communicate with the SMF through an N4 interface, and the UPF can also communicate with an application server in the DN through an N6 interface. Core network network elements can obtain services from each other by invoking the service interface of the other party, such as: the AMF can provide services through the Namf interface, the SMF can provide services through the Nsmf interface, the BSF can provide services through the Nbsf interface, the UDM can provide services through the Nudm interface, the NEF can provide services through the Nnef interface, the NRF can provide services through the Nnrf interface, the NWDAF can provide services through the Nnwdaf interface, the AF can provide services through the Naf interface, the PCF can provide services through the Npcf interface, the UDR can provide services through the Nudr interface, the function orchestration network element can provide services through the Nnof interface, and the API control function network element can provide services through the Napi interface.

[0124] It should be understood that the system architecture 200 described above applied to the embodiments of the present application is only an example of the network architecture described, and the network architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application is not limited thereto. Any network architecture capable of realizing the functions of the above-mentioned network elements is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0125] It should be noted that the interface names between the various network elements in FIG. 2 are only an example, and the names of the interfaces in the specific implementation can be other names, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0126] It should be noted that the names of the various network elements (such as SMF, AF, UPF, etc.) included in FIG. 2 are also only an example, and do not constitute a limitation on the functions of the network elements themselves. In future other networks, the above-mentioned network elements can also be other names, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, in future communication networks, part or all of the above-mentioned network elements can continue to use the terms in 5G, or other names can be used, etc. A unified description is made here, and the following will not be described again. In addition, it should be understood that the names of the messages (or signaling) transmitted between the above-mentioned network elements are also only an example, and do not constitute any limitation on the functions of the messages themselves.

[0127] In addition, in addition to the network elements shown in FIG. 2, the system architecture 200 can also include other network elements, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0128] The embodiment of the present application provides a non-connection service use method and device, through configuring a network service interface, so that a terminal device can use a network service through the network service interface based on information of the network service interface, non-connection service (for example, calculation, sensing, data processing, etc.) of the terminal device is unloaded to the network, thereby realizing end-to-cloud collaboration, reducing the processing burden of the terminal device, improving the flexibility of non-connection service use, and further improving the user experience of the terminal device.

[0129] FIG. 3 shows a schematic flowchart of a non-connection service (network service) use method 300 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method 300 can be applied to the system architecture 100 shown in FIG. 1, can be applied to the system architecture 200 shown in FIG. 2, and can be applied to other system architectures, which are not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0130] The method 300 can include:

[0131] S301, an API control function network element configures a first network service interface, the first network service interface being a calling interface of a first network service provided by a network for a terminal device, and the first network service being a non-connection service. Further, the API control function network element determines first configuration information based on the configured first network service interface. The first configuration information includes information for indicating the first network service interface provided by the network for the terminal device.

[0132] The first network service interface can be referred to as a first API or other names, which are not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0133] Exemplarily, the API control function network element can configure the first network service interface by configuring at least one of an interface address of the first network service interface, triplet information of the first network service interface, or network slice information corresponding to the first network service interface. The interface address of the first network service interface can include at least one of a uniform resource locator (URL) address, a uniform resource identifier (URI), a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), or an internet protocol (IP) address of the first network service interface. The triplet information of the first network service interface can include a destination address, a port number, and a transmission protocol.

[0134] Exemplarily, the information of the first network service interface can include the interface address of the first network service interface, the triplet information of the first network service interface, or the network slice information corresponding to the first network service interface, etc.

[0135] In the embodiments of the present application, the first network service is a non-connection service, which can be understood as a service other than the data transmission service between a terminal device and a data network or between terminal devices provided by a traditional mobile network. Optionally, the first network service includes but is not limited to a network service for providing network data, a network service for providing data processing, a network service for providing an intelligent agent, or a network service for providing data storage and reading.

[0136] The network service for providing network data described above can include that the network side provides network data related to the terminal device to the terminal device. In a possible implementation, the network data can be location information of a location where the terminal device is located. For example, the network side provides the terminal device with location information of a geographical location where the terminal device is located. In another possible implementation, the network data can be environmental information near the location where the terminal device is located. For example, the network side provides a vehicle-mounted terminal device with road condition information near the vehicle where the vehicle-mounted terminal device is located. The road condition information can be information about surrounding vehicles, pedestrians, or traffic conditions, etc. In yet another possible implementation, the network data can be channel environment information of an area where the terminal device is located. For example, the network side provides the terminal device with QoS information such as bandwidth, latency, etc. In yet another possible implementation, the network data can be perception data. For example, the network side can provide the terminal device with environmental perception information around the location where the terminal device is located. For example, when the terminal device is a vehicle-mounted terminal, the network side can provide the vehicle-mounted terminal with road perception information around the vehicle, such as whether there are obstacles or pedestrians, etc.

[0137] The network service for providing data processing described above can include that the network side provides the terminal device with a data processing service. The data processing can include, for example, rendering of a video stream, compression and decompression of data, analysis of data (such as big data analysis, prediction, etc.), AI model training or inference, etc.

[0138] The network service for providing an intelligent agent described above can include providing a user with an intelligent agent service, that is, providing a terminal with services such as editing, creating, or modifying text, voice, pictures, video, etc. through intelligent technologies such as digital twinning and digital human, or providing a terminal or an application with automatic answering, automatic task execution, etc.

[0139] The network service for providing data storage and reading described above can include a data storage service provided for a terminal device, that is, the terminal device can upload and store local data to the network side, and correspondingly, the terminal device can also download local data stored by the terminal device from the network side.

[0140] S302, the API control function network element sends the first configuration information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first configuration information.

[0141] It should be understood that the API control function network element configures the information of the first network service interface to the terminal device through the first configuration information, so that the terminal device can subsequently initiate a use request for the first network service based on the configured information of the first network service interface.

[0142] S303, the API control function network element sends the first configuration information and the third configuration information to the gateway, the third configuration information being used to indicate a forwarding rule for the use request from the terminal device. Correspondingly, the gateway receives the first configuration information and the third configuration information.

[0143] It should be understood that generally, the terminal device cannot directly communicate with a network element providing a network service, and needs to forward the service use request of the terminal device to the network element providing the network service through the gateway. The gateway has a message forwarding function. The gateway can forward the service use request from the terminal device to a device capable of processing the service use request (i.e., a network element capable of providing a corresponding network service, referred to as a service processing function network element in the embodiments of the present application) according to a message forwarding rule. In one possible implementation, an access network network element can perform message forwarding as a gateway. In another possible implementation, a core network network element can perform message forwarding as a gateway. Therefore, the API control function network element can configure the information of the first network service interface to the gateway through the first configuration information, and configure the forwarding rule for the use request from the terminal device to the gateway through the third configuration information, so that the gateway can subsequently forward the use request of the terminal device for the first network service based on the configured information of the first network service interface and the forwarding rule for the use request of the terminal device.

[0144] It should be understood that the number of gateways in the embodiments of the present application can be one or multiple, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In actual application, there can be multiple gateways for multi-hop forwarding, i.e., two or more gateways sequentially forward the use request. In this case, the API control function network element can configure the above-mentioned first configuration information and third configuration information to the above-mentioned multiple gateways respectively. In addition, the above-mentioned multiple gateways can all be access network network elements, or all be core network network elements, or some gateways be access network network elements and the other gateways be core network network elements, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0145] As a possible implementation, the third configuration information can further include authorization information of the terminal device, the authorization information being used to indicate a network service that the terminal device can request to use. For example, after the terminal device accesses the network, the terminal device can request to use some non-connection service after being authorized by the network side, and the network side generates corresponding authorization information and sends the authorization information to the gateway.

[0146] As another possible implementation, the authorization information of the terminal device can be generated by a core network element other than the API control function network element and sent to the gateway. For example, after the terminal device is authorized by the network side, the terminal device can request to use some non-connection service, and the core network element can generate corresponding authorization information and send the authorization information to the access network element as the gateway.

[0147] S304, the terminal device sends a first request to the gateway based on the first configuration information, the first request being used to request to use the first network service through the first network service interface. Correspondingly, the gateway receives the first request from the terminal device.

[0148] For example, the terminal device can carry IP address information of the network layer, port information of TCP or UDP, connection identifier of QUIC, or URL information of the HTTP layer, etc. in the first request.

[0149] Optionally, the terminal device can further carry the following information in the first request: identification of the first network service, type of the first network service, user information of the first network service (for example, user information, network information or APP information, etc. using the first network service), information of the service processing function network element (for example, network information of the service processing function network element executing the first network service), customizer information of the first network service (for example, network, application or user information, etc. customizing the first network service). Wherein, the customizer of the first network service can be understood as an application server or a user customizing the network service, and the user of the first network service can be understood as an APP or a user using the terminal device. For example, the above-mentioned APP information can include identification of the APP allowing to use the first network service.

[0150] For example, the terminal device requests to use the data storage service of the network side, and the first request can carry indication information of the data storage service, the indication information of the data storage service being used to indicate data service identification of data storage, or data service type, etc.

[0151] S305, the gateway forwards the first request based on the first configuration information and the third configuration information, that is, sends the first request to the service processing function network element, so that the service processing function network element provides the first network service for the terminal device based on the first request.

[0152] In some embodiments, the gateway can allocate a terminal identity to the terminal device to identify the identity of the terminal device. The identity can be a temporary identity of the terminal device, or a service type identity (used to confirm which type of service is used by the terminal device), or a network layer identity (such as an IP address), etc. For example, in the case of an access network element as a gateway, the access network element can allocate a terminal identity to the terminal device to identify the identity of the terminal device. The above-mentioned identity can also be allocated to the terminal device by the access network element, or obtained from the core network element by the access network element and then allocated to the terminal.

[0153] Optionally, the gateway can obtain a mapping relationship between the identity and the network service interface information (for example, a mapping relationship between the IP address of the terminal device and the network service interface information), and / or a mapping relationship between the identity and the service processing function network element. Thus, after receiving the service use request from the terminal device, the gateway can forward the service use request to the service processing function network element based on the mapping relationship.

[0154] It should be understood that the above-mentioned service processing function network element is a logical concept of a network element, which can correspond to one function network element or multiple function network elements, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Specifically, if the first network service can be provided for the terminal device by one function network element, the service processing function network element corresponds to one function network element; if the first network service needs to be supported by multiple function network elements in cooperation with each other, multiple function network elements need to be arranged, scheduled and combined, and the service processing function network element corresponds to multiple function network elements.

[0155] Exemplarily, the service processing function network element can be an access network element and / or a core network element. In one case, the service processing function network element can be an access network element. Taking the first network service as a network service for providing network data and the network data as sensing data as an example, if the sensing data can be provided by the access network element, the service processing function network element is the access network element. In another case, the service processing function network element can be an access network element and a core network element. Taking the first network service as a network service for providing network data and the network data as sensing data as an example, the access network element can obtain the sensing data and provide the sensing data to the core network element, the core network element obtains the sensing data from the access network element and further processes the data, and sends the processed sensing data to the terminal device. In this case, the sensing service is provided by the access network element and the core network element, i.e. the service processing function network element is the access network element and the core network element.

[0156] It can be understood that the access network element or the core network element can perform service processing based on the first request message from the terminal device after receiving the first request message. Alternatively, during the service processing, other network elements can be instructed to further perform service processing by calling corresponding service interfaces. The service data corresponding to the service usage request is further processed in the upper layer. For example, the terminal device sends a first request to the network side to request the use of a network service for providing data storage. Moreover, the terminal device sends data to be stored to the network side. The access network element or the AMF can compress the data to be stored from the terminal device based on the first request of the terminal device. Next, the access network element or the AMF can send the compressed data to a network element having a data storage function, and then store the compressed data.

[0157] The method for using non-connected services of the embodiments of the present application can enable the terminal device to use network services through network service interfaces based on information of the network service interfaces, by configuring network service interfaces, so as to offload non-connected services (such as computing, sensing, data processing, etc.) of the terminal device to the network, thereby realizing end-network-cloud collaboration, reducing the processing burden of the terminal device, improving the flexibility of non-connected service usage, and further improving the user experience of the terminal device.

[0158] When the first network service is a network service for providing network data, the terminal device can use non-connected services for providing network data through the first network service interface, so that the terminal device can obtain data sensed or measured by the network side, rather than performing data sensing or measurement by itself, thereby enabling the terminal device to obtain real-time and accurate data information and reducing the burden of data sensing or measurement of the terminal device.

[0159] When the first network service is a network service for providing data processing, the terminal device can use non-connected services for providing data processing through the first network service interface, thereby offloading local data processing tasks to the network side, thereby reducing the data processing burden of the terminal device.

[0160] When the first network service is a network service for providing an agent, the terminal device can use non-connected services for providing an agent through the first network service interface, so that the terminal device can use a more optimal agent or AI model of the mobile network to perform a task, thereby hosting the task to the network side for execution, obtaining better intelligent services than the terminal device locally, or improving the user experience.

[0161] When the first network service is a network service for providing data storage, the terminal device can store local data to the network side through the first network service interface using a non-connection service for providing data storage, thereby saving local storage space of the terminal device.

[0162] As an optional embodiment, the method further includes: the API control function network element obtaining second configuration information, and sending the second configuration information to the terminal device in S306. The second configuration information is used to indicate a usage rule of the terminal device for the first network service. The terminal device can send the first request to the gateway based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information. Illustratively, the usage rule of the first network service can specify principles followed when using the first network service. Specifically, specific contents included in the usage rule can refer to those described below, and will not be described here.

[0163] It should be understood that the API control function network element can configure the usage rule of the terminal device for the first network service to the terminal device through the second configuration information, so that the terminal device can subsequently initiate a usage request (i.e., the first request) for the first network service based on the configured information of the first network service interface and the usage rule of the first network service.

[0164] As an optional embodiment, the usage rule of the terminal device for the first network service can include at least one of: a protocol type used when using the first network service, a usage mode used when using the first network service, a usage parameter used when using the first network service, a message format used when using the first network service, a charging rule of the first network service interface, information of the terminal device associated with the first network service interface, network information corresponding to the first network service interface, identity information that can be used by the terminal device when using the first network service interface, or information of an APP associated with the first network service interface.

[0165] The protocol type used when using the first network service, i.e., what protocol is used by the terminal device to use the first network service. Illustratively, the protocol used by the terminal device can be a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), a remote procedure call (PRC) protocol, or a simple object access protocol (SOAP) protocol, etc., but the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0166] The usage manner used when the terminal device uses the first network service, i.e., how the terminal device uses the first network service. It should be understood that different protocol types can correspond to different usage manners. Taking the protocol type HTTP as an example, the usage manner used when the terminal device uses the first network service can be a resource creation request (for example, a POST request), a resource acquisition request (for example, a GET request), a resource update request (for example, a PUT request), or a resource deletion request (for example, a DELETE request).

[0167] The usage parameter used when the terminal device uses the first network service can be understood as a parameter that needs to be carried in a request for using the first network service. For example, the first network service is a network service for providing network data, and the terminal device needs to carry identification information (such as data type, data identification, etc.) of the network data in the service usage request. If the network data is user data, the identification information of the network data can be a user identifier.

[0168] The message format used when the terminal device uses the first network service can include a message format of a service usage request for using the first network service and / or a message format for responding to the service usage request for using the first network service. It should be understood that different protocol types can correspond to different message formats. Taking the protocol type HTTP as an example, the message format of the service usage request for using the first network service by the terminal device can be extensible markup language (XML), javascript object notation (JSON), etc.

[0169] The charging rule of the first network service interface can include a charging dimension and / or a rate.

[0170] The information of the terminal device associated with the first network service interface can include at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device allowed to use the first network service, type of the terminal device allowed to use the first network service, operating system information of the terminal device allowed to use the first network service, location information of the terminal device allowed to use the first network service (for example, in which regions the terminal device can use the service), or wireless interface information of the terminal device allowed to use the first network service (for example, which wireless interface the terminal device can use to use the first network service, which can be a base station UU interface, a PC5 interface for communication between terminal devices, or a wifi interface, or a satellite interface, etc. non-3GPP interface, etc.).

[0171] The network information corresponding to the first network service interface can include at least one of a public land mobile network (PLMN) identifier allowing the first network service to be used, a network slice allowing the first network service to be used, a non-public network (NPN) allowing the first network service to be used, or a sub-network allowing the first network service to be used, and the like.

[0172] The identity information that the terminal device can use when using the first network service interface can include at least one of a terminal identifier that the terminal device can use when using the first network service, a source IP address, a source MAC address, or a port number, and the like.

[0173] The information of the APP associated with the first network service interface can include APP information indicating that the first network service is allowed to be used (i.e., which APPs the terminal device can use to use the first network service). For example, the information of the application APP associated with the first network service interface can include an identifier of the APP, a destination address of the APP, a port number of the APP, or a transmission protocol used by the APP, and the like.

[0174] As an optional embodiment, the forwarding rule in S303 includes a forwarding rule of the gateway for a request message using the first network service and / or a forwarding rule of the gateway for a response message of the first network service. Thus, when the gateway receives a request for using the first network service from the terminal device, the gateway can forward the request message to the service processing function network element providing the first network service according to the forwarding rule. In addition, after the service processing function network element providing the first network service responds to the request for using the first network service, the gateway can forward the response message to the terminal device according to the forwarding rule.

[0175] For example, the forwarding rule can include a reverse proxy rule, a forward proxy rule, an application protocol conversion rule, and the like.

[0176] The reverse proxy rule can include a load balance (LB) rule, an API mapping rule (such as a mapping between a destination address carried by a request of the terminal device and an address of a service processing function in the network), or a security rule, and the like.

[0177] The above forward proxy rule can include an access control rule, an address mapping rule, a privacy processing rule, or a rule based on QoS information, etc. Among them, the control rule can include a rule for authenticating the service request. The address mapping rule can include a rule for hiding the function topology of the network side to avoid exposing the address information in the network to the external service user. The privacy processing rule can include a rule for anonymizing the information of the terminal device requesting the first network service, such as identity hiding or replacement, etc. The rule based on QoS information includes a rule indicating that the gateway provides differentiated services based on the QoS parameters corresponding to the first network service. For example, the terminal device requests to use a non-connection service for providing network data, the service processing function network element providing the non-connection service responds to the request for using the network service, and sends a response message (carrying network data) to the terminal device through the gateway. The gateway can send the above response message to the terminal device based on QoS parameters such as bandwidth of transmission, delay of transmission, packet loss rate of data, priority of message forwarding, etc.

[0178] The above application protocol conversion rule can include a rule for the gateway to convert the protocol adopted by the service usage request. The gateway can improve the availability of the network to adapt to different service requesters by converting the protocol adopted by the service usage request. For example, the application protocol conversion rule includes converting the service usage request from JSON format to remote procedure call (RPC) format.

[0179] As an optional embodiment, the network side can allocate the terminal device with the identification information (such as UE ID) and / or address information (such as IP address, MAC address, etc.) of the terminal device associated with the first network service. For example, the UDM, NEF, SMF, or AMF, etc. of the network side can allocate the terminal device with the identification information and / or address information. Thus, the terminal device presents the allocated terminal device identification information and / or address information to the service provider (such as an application server) outside the network, rather than directly presenting the information of the terminal itself, which can protect the privacy information of the terminal device.

[0180] In the above S302, the API control function network element can send the first configuration information to the terminal device through a plurality of possible implementation manners.

[0181] In a possible implementation, the API control function network element can perform policy update through the PCF, and then send the first configuration information to the terminal device. Optionally, after the first network service interface is configured, the API control function network element can send the first configuration information to the PCF. The PCF can send the first configuration information to the terminal device as a user policy. For example, the PCF can use a user policy update process to send the first configuration information to the access network network element through the AMF, and then the access network network element sends the first configuration information to the terminal device. Optionally, the API control function network element can send the first configuration information to a storage function network element (such as UDR in 5G), and then the storage function network element sends the first configuration information to the PCF.

[0182] For example, when the first network service requires multiple network elements to provide, the function orchestration network element can perform service orchestration on the first network service. After generating the network service instance corresponding to the first network service through function orchestration, the function orchestration network element can send the first configuration information to the PCF. Alternatively, after generating the network service instance corresponding to the first network service through function orchestration, the function orchestration network element can send the first configuration information to the API control function network element, and then the API control function network element sends the first configuration information to the PCF.

[0183] In another possible implementation, after determining the first configuration information, the API control function network element can send the information to the AMF that maintains the mobile state of the terminal device, and then the AMF sends the information to the terminal device through a NAS message.

[0184] In yet another possible implementation, the API control function network element is an access network network element, and the first configuration information can be generated by the access network network element and sent to the terminal device. For example, the access network network element sends the first configuration information to the terminal device through an RRC configuration message.

[0185] It should be understood that, in addition to the API control function network element sending the first configuration information to the terminal device, in other possible implementations, the first configuration information can be sent to the terminal device by the network element that provides the first network service. For example, if the first network service is provided by an access network network element, the first configuration information can be generated by the access network network element and sent to the terminal device.

[0186] As an optional embodiment, the API control function network element can send the second configuration information to the terminal device through various possible implementations.

[0187] In a possible implementation, the second configuration information can be determined by the API control function network element itself.

[0188] In another possible implementation, the second configuration information can be determined by other functional network elements. After the API control functional network element determines the first configuration information, the API control functional network element can send the first configuration information to other functional network elements, and the other functional network elements can generate the second configuration information based on the first configuration information. For example, if the usage rule of the first network service is a charging rule of the first network service interface, interface usage information, etc., the PCF can determine the second configuration information based on the first configuration information. The interface usage information may, for example, be information of a terminal device associated with the first network service interface, network information corresponding to the first network service interface, identity information that can be used by the terminal device when using the first network service interface, or information of an APP associated with the first network service interface.

[0189] It should be understood that the implementation of sending the second configuration information to the terminal device can refer to the implementation of sending the first configuration information to the terminal device described above, and details are not described herein.

[0190] As an optional embodiment, the method 300 further includes that the service processing functional network element sends a first response to the terminal device, the first response being a service response message corresponding to the first request, and the first response including a feedback result of the first network service.

[0191] Specifically, after receiving the service usage request, the service processing functional network element can perform service processing based on the service usage request, and send a service response message to the terminal device.

[0192] In the S304 described above, the terminal device can initiate the usage of the first network service in the following two different ways.

[0193] Method 1: The network can open the configured first network service interface to the terminal device for use, so that the terminal device can initiate the usage of the first network service in an APP-unaware manner. Specifically, when an APP inside the terminal device initiates a local usage request of the first network service, the terminal device can convert the usage request of the local service interface into the usage request of the first network service interface based on the mapping relationship between the local service interface of the terminal device and the first network service interface, and then send a request for using the first network service interface to the gateway. In this way, for the APP inside the terminal device, the local service interface is still used, and the APP can not be aware of the subsequent usage of the first network service interface by the terminal device.

[0194] In the manner 1, the usage rule indicated by the second configuration information further comprises a mapping relationship between the local application program interface of the terminal device and the first network service interface. In this way, when the APP invokes the local service interface of the terminal device, the terminal device can convert the invocation request of the local service interface into a usage request of the first network service interface based on the mapping relationship between the local service interface of the terminal device and the first network service interface. The usage of the non-connection service is realized by invoking the network service interface corresponding to the local service interface. Thus, the APP can obtain the non-connection service provided by the network without perceiving the usage of the non-connection service.

[0195] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the terminal device and the network side. As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal device comprises an APP client, an API enabling module and a transmission module. The network side comprises an API control function network element, a gateway and a service processing function network element.

[0196] Taking the first network service as an example of a network service for providing data storage, when the APP 1 on the terminal device needs to store data (such as pictures, application data, voice data, model data, etc.), the APP 1 sends a service usage request to the API enabling module in the terminal device to use the data storage function of the terminal device. After receiving the service usage request of the APP 1, the API enabling module in the terminal device can convert the request of the application program interface of the APP 1 invoking the local data storage function of the terminal device into a request of invoking the data storage service interface provided by the network side based on the mapping relationship between the local application program interface and the data storage service interface of the network side. The API enabling module can send the service usage request to the network side through the transmission module on the terminal device to request the use of the data storage service of the network side, and then upload the data provided by the APP 1 to the service processing function of the network side.

[0197] Optionally, the API enabling module can judge whether the APP 1 can use the data storage service interface of the network based on the usage rule of the first network service. In the case that the APP 1 can use the data storage service interface of the network, the API enabling module sends the service usage request to the network side. For example, the identity or the triple information of the APP 1 exists in the usage rule of the first network service, or the APP 1 is not prohibited to use the first network service in the usage rule of the first network service, then the API enabling module can judge that the APP 1 can use the data storage service interface of the network.

[0198] In the above process, the service providing of the terminal device is transparent to the APP, that is, APP 1 does not perceive whether the data is stored in the terminal device or stored in the network side. Accordingly, if APP 1 needs to read data, when calling the application program interface of the terminal device for data reading, the terminal device can send a service usage request to the network side to request the use of the data storage service of the network side based on the mapping relationship between the local application program interface and the first network service interface, and then upload the data provided by APP 1 to the service processing function of the network side.

[0199] Taking the first network service as an example for providing network data, APP 2 on the terminal device needs to obtain terminal device location information. APP 2 sends a service usage request to the API enabling module in the terminal device to call the interface of the GPS module of the terminal device to obtain the location information of the terminal device. After receiving the service usage request of APP 2, the API enabling module in the terminal device judges whether the network service needs to be used. For example, the API enabling module judges that in the case that the GPS of the terminal device is not turned on or the GPS signal is not good, the request of APP 2 to call the GPS module interface can be converted into a request to call the positioning service interface provided by the network side based on the mapping relationship between the GPS module interface and the positioning service interface of the network side. The API enabling module can send the service usage request to the network side through the transmission module on the terminal device to request the use of the positioning service of the network side to obtain the terminal device location information provided by the network side. After receiving the terminal device location information from the network side, the API enabling module forwards the location information to APP 2, and APP 2 thereby obtains the location information of the terminal device.

[0200] The configured first network service interface is exposed to the terminal device through the network for use, and the terminal device initiates the call of the first network service in an APP-unaware manner, which can transparently process the APP and is beneficial to the control of the self-operated business by the operator.

[0201] Method 2, the network can expose the configured first network service interface to the APP inside the terminal device for use, so that the terminal device can initiate the use of the first network service in an APP-aware manner. Specifically, the APP inside the terminal device can obtain the local service interface of the terminal device itself and the network service interface that can be called by the terminal device, and the APP can select to use the first network service through the first network service interface according to the demand. Therefore, through this way of using the network service, the APP inside the terminal device is able to perceive.

[0202] Next, an embodiment of APP awareness is described in detail in combination with FIG. 5. FIG. 5 shows a schematic flowchart of a method 500 for using a non-connection service (network service) according to an embodiment of the present application. The method 500 can be applied to the system architecture 100 shown in FIG. 1, or the system architecture 200 shown in FIG. 2, and the present application is not limited thereto.

[0203] As shown in FIG. 5, the method can include the following steps.

[0204] S501, the application server sends a second request to the API control function network element. Correspondingly, the API control function network element receives the second request.

[0205] The second request is used to request the network device to provide a first network service, and the first network service is a non-connection service provided by the network device for the terminal device. For example, the application server can be the AF in FIG. 2.

[0206] Optionally, the second request can include an identifier of the first network service, used to indicate the customized first network service.

[0207] Optionally, the second request can include an identifier of the terminal device, used to indicate the terminal device that can use the first network service. The second request can also include an identifier of the APP, used to indicate the application that can use the first network service.

[0208] It should be understood that the application server can directly send the second request to the API control function network element, or the application server can forward the second request to the API control function network element through other network elements. For example, the application server can forward the second request to the API control function network element through the NEF, PCF, or the like. For another example, the application server can send the second request to the API control function network element through the management plane (such as an operation and maintenance system or a portal).

[0209] S502, the API control function network element configures a first network service interface. The first network service interface is used to use the first network service.

[0210] Optionally, before S502, the API control function network element can also determine whether to support the second request sent by the application server to the API control function network element. For example, after the API control function network element receives the second request, it determines whether to support the second request based on whether the application server is legal, whether the operator and the application server are signed to provide the service.

[0211] Exemplarily, if the API control function network element determines that the second request is not supported, the API control function network element can feed back the reason for not supporting the second request to the application server. For example, the reason can be that the application server is illegal, the operator and the application server are not contracted, etc.

[0212] If the API control function network element determines that the second request can be supported, S503 is performed.

[0213] S503, the API control function network element sends the first configuration information and the second configuration information to the application server.

[0214] Exemplarily, in the case that the first network service needs to be provided by multiple network elements, the function arrangement network element can perform service arrangement on the first network service. After the first network service is generated through function arrangement, the function arrangement network element can send the information of the first network service interface and the usage rule of the first network service to the NEF, and then the NEF sends the information of the first network service interface and the usage rule of the first network service to the application server.

[0215] S504, the application server sends the first configuration information and the second configuration information to the terminal device.

[0216] Exemplarily, the application server can send the information of the first network service interface and the usage rule of the first network service to the APP on the terminal device through an application layer message, or can send the information of the first network service interface and the usage rule of the first network service to the APP on the terminal device by updating the APP on the terminal device.

[0217] In a possible design, the usage rule of the first network service can include control plane information, and the control plane information is used to indicate at least one of the following control plane parameters: a mapping relationship between the identification information of the terminal device and the first network service interface, an identification of the first network service corresponding to the first network service interface, information of a service processing function network element corresponding to the first network service interface, or a type of the first network service corresponding to the first network service interface. The mapping relationship between the identification information of the terminal device and the first network service interface is used to confirm the identification used by the terminal device based on the first network service interface when the terminal device sends a first request for calling the first network service interface. The identification of the first network service corresponding to the first network service interface is used to confirm the information of the service processing function network element on the network side. The information of the service processing function network element corresponding to the first network service interface is used to indicate the service processing function network element that provides the first network service. The type of the first network service includes a network service for providing network data, a network service for providing data processing, a network service for providing an intelligent agent, or a network service for providing data storage and reading.

[0218] In another possible design, the usage rule of the first network service can include user plane information, the user plane information being used to indicate a mapping relationship between a session parameter and the first network service interface. The terminal device can establish a corresponding session connection based on the mapping relationship, and then send a usage request of the first network service through a user plane data packet. The session parameter can include a data network name (DNN), slice information, a session type (IPv4, IPv6, Ethernet, etc.), or address information of the terminal device, and the like.

[0219] S505, the API control function network element sends the first configuration information and the third configuration information to the gateway, and the third configuration information is used to indicate a forwarding rule of the usage request from the terminal device. Correspondingly, the gateway receives the first configuration information and the third configuration information.

[0220] Optionally, the API control function network element can send the first configuration information and the third configuration information to the PCF or the UDR, and the PCF or the UDR sends the first configuration information and the third configuration information to the gateway.

[0221] In a possible design, the PCF or the UDR can send the first configuration information and the third configuration information of the first network service interface to the access network element or the AMF. When the terminal device subsequently invokes the first network service through the control plane, the access network element or the AMF can serve as the gateway, and based on the first configuration information and the third configuration information, forward the request of the terminal device to use the first network service to the service processing function network element.

[0222] In another possible design, the PCF or the UDR can send the first configuration information and the third configuration information of the first network service interface to the SMF, and the SMF sends the first configuration information and the third configuration information to the UPF. When the terminal device subsequently uses the first network service through the user plane, the UPF can serve as the gateway, and based on the first configuration information and the third configuration information, forward the request of the terminal device to use the first network service to the service processing function network element.

[0223] S506, the terminal device sends a first request to the gateway based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information, and the first request is used to request to use the first network service through the first network service interface. Correspondingly, the gateway receives the first request from the terminal device.

[0224] S507, the gateway forwards the first request based on the first configuration information and the third configuration information, that is, sends the first request to the service processing function network element, so that the service processing function network element provides the first network service for the terminal device based on the first request.

[0225] S508, the service processing function network element sends a first response to the terminal device, and the service usage response includes a feedback result of the first network service.

[0226] Other details in the method 500 can refer to the description of the method 300, and will not be repeated here.

[0227] The method for using the non-connection service according to the embodiments of the present application can make the non-connection service of the network side open to the APP, reduce the processing burden of the terminal device, improve the flexibility of the non-connection service usage, and further improve the user experience of the terminal device. In addition, the commercial scale of the operator can be expanded, and new profit channels can be added.

[0228] In some embodiments, S503 and S504 can be replaced by S509: the API control function network element sends the first configuration information and the second configuration information to the terminal device. That is, the API control function network element does not send the first configuration information and the second configuration information to the application server, but the API control function network element sends the first configuration information and the second configuration information to the terminal device. In this way, the APP on the terminal device can use the first network service as needed according to the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0229] FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a terminal device and a network side. As shown in FIG. 6, the terminal device includes an APP client and a transmission module. The network side includes an API control function network element, a gateway, and a service processing function network element.

[0230] For example, the APP can obtain the service interface of the terminal device and the first network service interface that can be called by the APP. When the APP needs to use a certain non-connection service, the APP can determine whether to use the service of the terminal device locally or to use the non-connection service of the network side. For example, when the APP determines to use the service of the terminal device locally, the APP can use the service of the terminal device locally by sending a call request of the service interface of the terminal device to the OS, modem, and chip of the terminal device. Or, when the APP determines to use the non-connection service of the network side, the APP can directly request to call the corresponding network service interface to use the non-connection service. For example, the APP can send a network service interface call request to the transmission module in the terminal device, and the transmission module can act as a routing or relay node. After receiving the network service interface call request, the transmission module forwards the call request and sends the call request to the network side.

[0231] When the terminal device receives a service usage request of an APP calling a network service interface, the terminal device can send the service usage request to the network side based on different implementation manners. For example, the terminal device can use a corresponding non-connection service through control plane signaling, user plane data, or other service plane interaction manners.

[0232] As a possible implementation manner, in the above S506, the APP on the terminal device can request to use the network service through control plane signaling. The control plane signaling can carry indication information of the first network service. The control plane protocol stack of the embodiments of the present application is described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9.

[0233] FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a control plane protocol stack according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, the protocol stack on the terminal device side includes a physical layer (PHY), a media access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio resource control (RRC) layer, and a NAS layer. The protocol stack on the access network element side includes a physical layer, a MAC layer, an RLC layer, a PDCP layer, an RRC layer, a layer 1 (L1), a layer 2 (L2), a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) layer, a next generation access protocol (NGAP) layer, a non-access stratum (NAS), and a protocol stack corresponding to the service processing function network element (denoted as Nxx in the figure). The protocol stack on the service processing function network element side includes a protocol stack corresponding to the gateway (denoted as Nxx in the figure). The gateway and the service processing function network element communicate through a service based interface (SBI). The payload in the NAS message can be in an extensible markup language (XML) or javascript object notation (JSON) format, encapsulated through HTTP3, quick UDP internet connections (QUIC), user datagram protocol (UDP), and internet protocol (IP).

[0234] As shown in FIG. 7, the terminal device can send a service usage request to the network side through a NAS message. The terminal device can carry information of a first network service interface (i.e., indication information of the first network service) in the NAS message to indicate that the non-connected service used by the terminal device is the first network service.

[0235] In FIG. 7, the terminal device can forward the NAS message to the gateway through the access network element, and the gateway forwards the NAS message to the service processing function element based on the forwarding rule received in step S505. Correspondingly, the service processing function element performs service processing based on the service usage request, and then forwards the NAS message carrying the service usage response to the terminal device through the gateway and the access network element.

[0236] In this embodiment, the gateway parses the NAS message carrying the non-connection service usage request, re-encapsulates it into a new message format, and then forwards it to the service processing function element. In this case, since the service isolation is realized through the gateway, after the network service processing function is upgraded, the terminal device does not need to adjust or update the non-connection service usage request message, and can still use the updated non-connection service through the original non-connection service usage request message.

[0237] FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of another control plane protocol stack according to an embodiment of the present application. In FIG. 8, the gateway is an access network element. As shown in FIG. 8, the terminal device can send a service usage request to the network side through an RRC message.

[0238] Exemplarily, in the case that the terminal device sends a service usage request (i.e., a first request) to the network side through an RRC message, the access network element can identify and forward the service usage request. The access network element forwards the service usage request to the service processing function element based on the forwarding rule received in step S505. Correspondingly, the service processing function element performs service processing based on the service usage request, and then forwards the RRC message carrying the service usage response to the terminal device through the access network element. For example, the interface information of the non-connection service is added in the control plane sublayer (such as the RRC layer) between the terminal device and the access network element.

[0239] It should be understood that the description of the protocol stack shown in FIG. 8 can refer to the description of the protocol stack described in FIG. 7, which will not be repeated here.

[0240] FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram of still another control plane protocol stack according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 9, the terminal device can send a non-connection service usage request through an adaptation layer in the control plane protocol layer.

[0241] Exemplarily, taking the protocol stack on the access network element side as an example, an adaptation layer can be added on the RRC layer in the protocol stack on the access network element side, which is used to process the service usage request of the terminal device to the non-connection service. Unlike the NAS message, the function of the adaptation layer is configured and implemented on the access network element side. In a possible implementation manner, the adaptation layer can be an IP layer.

[0242] In this embodiment, the non-connection service use request of the terminal device is directly forwarded to the service processing function network element by the access network element, without forwarding through other gateways other than the access network element, thereby reducing the transmission delay of the non-connection service use request.

[0243] It can be understood that when the APP on the terminal device uses the network service through the control plane signaling, the corresponding information needs to be added in the forwarding rule sent in step S505 to indicate the routing and forwarding of the service use request and / or the service use response.

[0244] As a possible implementation, in S506, the APP on the terminal device can use the non-connection service through the user plane. For example, before step S506, the terminal device can establish a user plane connection based on the use rule of the first network service obtained in S503 or S504. For example, the terminal device can establish a user plane session based on the mapping relationship between the session parameter and the first network service interface or based on the mapping relationship between the session parameter and the APP identifier.

[0245] It should be understood that the description of the protocol stack shown in FIG. 9 can refer to the description of the protocol stack described in FIG. 7, which will not be repeated here.

[0246] As a possible implementation, in the above S506, the APP on the terminal device can use the first network service through the user plane data. The user plane protocol stack of the present application will be described in detail in combination with FIGS. 10-12.

[0247] For example, the difference between the user plane protocol stack shown in FIGS. 10-12 and the control plane protocol stack shown in FIGS. 7-9 is that the RRC layer of the control plane protocol stack is replaced by the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer in the user plane protocol stack. In addition, the user plane protocol stack does not have a NAS layer. Accordingly, when the APP on the terminal device uses the network service through the user plane data, the upper layer indication containing the first request can be carried in the SDAP layer (instead of the NAS or RRC of the control plane).

[0248] FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram of the user plane protocol stack of the present application.

[0249] As shown in FIG. 10, the terminal device can send a user plane data packet carrying a non-connection service usage request to an access network element, and the access network element forwards the service usage request to a gateway. Next, the gateway forwards the service usage request to a corresponding service processing function network element based on the forwarding rule received in step S505. Exemplarily, the non-connection service usage request can be forwarded through an application layer. The gateway can perform forwarding processing on the service usage request based on information such as a URL or an HTTP packet header carried by the application layer, and perform protocol translation through the gateway. The gateway may, for example, be a UPF or other network element with forwarding function. In this embodiment, the gateway parses the user plane data packet carrying the non-connection service usage request, re-encapsulates it into a new message format, and then forwards it to the service processing function network element. In this way, service isolation is achieved through the gateway. Thus, after upgrading the network service processing function, the terminal device does not need to adjust or update the message of the network service usage request, and can still request to use the updated non-connection service.

[0250] It should be understood that the description of the remaining part of the protocol stack shown in FIG. 10 can refer to the description of the protocol stack described with reference to FIG. 7, which will not be repeated here.

[0251] As shown in FIG. 11, the terminal device can send a user plane data packet carrying a non-connection service usage request to an access network element, and the access network element forwards the non-connection service usage request to a gateway through transparent transmission. In this embodiment, the forwarding rule received by the gateway in step S505 can include a mapping relationship between the destination address of the terminal device and the service processing function network element (function instance, such as network function identifier) or address. The gateway sends the non-connection service usage request to the service processing function network element based on the mapping relationship. It should be understood that the gateway can be a UPF or other service plane function (XPF).

[0252] In this embodiment, the gateway can perform protocol conversion. For example, the gateway converts an external address into an internal address and then performs routing forwarding. By hiding the internal address from the outside, the privacy of the terminal device can be protected.

[0253] It should be understood that the description of the remaining part of the protocol stack shown in FIG. 11 can refer to the description of the protocol stack described with reference to FIG. 7, which will not be repeated here.

[0254] As shown in FIG. 12, in a possible design, the terminal device can send a non-connection service usage request through an adaptation layer in a user plane protocol layer.

[0255] Exemplarily, the non-connectivity service usage request is forwarded by the access network element. Taking the protocol stack at the side of the access network element as an example, an adaptation layer can be added on the SDAP layer in the protocol stack of the access network element, for processing the service usage request of the terminal device for the non-connectivity service. In a possible implementation manner, the adaptation layer can be an IP layer.

[0256] Similar to the manner of sending the non-connectivity service usage request through the control plane adaptation layer, corresponding information can be obtained or configured in the user plane protocol stack at the side of the access network element to determine the network service type requested by the terminal device, the network service requested by the terminal device, or the corresponding service processing function network element, and the like. Specifically, the manner of sending the non-connectivity service usage request through the user plane adaptation layer can refer to the foregoing manner of sending the non-connectivity service usage request through the control plane adaptation layer, and details are not described herein.

[0257] In this embodiment, the non-connectivity service usage request of the terminal device is directly forwarded to the service processing function network element by the RAN, without the need of forwarding through other gateways other than the RAN, so that the transmission delay of the non-connectivity service usage request can be reduced.

[0258] It can be understood that the APP on the terminal device can also use the non-connectivity service through the user plane or the service plane, which is not limited in the present application. If the terminal device needs to call the service interface through the user plane or the service plane, the connection of the service plane needs to be established based on the obtained usage rule.

[0259] It should be understood that the description of the remaining part of the protocol stack shown in FIG. 12 can refer to the description of the protocol stack described with respect to FIG. 7, and details are not described herein.

[0260] It can be understood that the protocol stacks shown in FIGS. 7-12 are only examples, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0261] It should be understood that the size of the serial number of the above processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined according to its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0262] It should be noted that each embodiment of the present application can be independently implemented, or can be implemented in combination, which is not limited. If there is no special description and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions provided in different embodiments of the present application are consistent and can be mutually referred to. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0263] It can be understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, the execution subject can execute part or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application, and these steps or operations are only examples, and the embodiments of the present application can also execute other operations or various modifications of the operations. In addition, each step can be executed in a different order from the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application are executed.

[0264] The above mainly introduces the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between devices. It can be understood that, in order to realize the above functions, each device comprises a hardware structure and / or a software module for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present application can be realized in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to realize the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0265] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functional modules of each device according to the above method examples, for example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated in one processing module. The above integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or software functional module. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. When actually implemented, there can be another division method.

[0266] In the case of dividing each functional module according to each function, FIG. 13 shows a communication device 1300 which can execute the actions performed by the terminal device or the gateway or the API control function network element in the above-mentioned method shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 5. All related contents of each step involved in the above-mentioned method embodiments can be referred to the function description of the corresponding functional module, and the technical effects that can be obtained are referred to the above-mentioned method embodiments, which will not be described here again.

[0267] The communication apparatus 1300 can include a transceiver module 1301 and a processing module 1302. For example, the communication apparatus 1300 can be a communication device, or a chip or other combination device or component with the above communication apparatus functions applied in the communication device. When the communication apparatus 1300 is a communication device, the transceiver module 1301 can be a transceiver, which can include an antenna and a radio frequency circuit, etc. The processing module 1302 can be a processor (or processing circuit), for example, a baseband processor, which can include one or more CPUs. When the communication apparatus 1300 is a component with the above communication apparatus functions, the transceiver module 1301 can be a radio frequency unit. The processing module 1302 can be a processor (or processing circuit), for example, a baseband processor. When the communication apparatus 1300 is a chip system, the transceiver module 1301 can be an input / output interface of a chip (for example, a baseband chip). The processing module 1302 can be a processor (or processing circuit) of the chip system, which can include one or more central processing units. It should be understood that the transceiver module 1301 in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver related circuit component. The processing module 1302 can be implemented by a processor or a processor related circuit component (or processing circuit).

[0268] For example, the transceiver module 1301 can be configured to perform all the transceiver operations performed by the communication apparatus in the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 5, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein. The processing module 1302 can be configured to perform all the operations performed by the communication apparatus in the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 5, except for the transceiver operations, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein.

[0269] As another implementation manner, the transceiver module 1301 in FIG. 13 can be replaced by a transceiver which can integrate the functions of the transceiver module 1301. The processing module 1302 can be replaced by a processor which can integrate the functions of the processing module 1302. Further, the communication apparatus 1300 shown in FIG. 13 can further include a memory.

[0270] Alternatively, when the processing module 1302 is replaced by a processor and the transceiver module 1301 is replaced by a transceiver, the communication apparatus 1300 involved in the embodiments of the present application can also be the communication apparatus 1400 shown in FIG. 14, wherein the processor can be a logic circuit 1401 and the transceiver can be an interface circuit 1402. Further, the communication apparatus 1400 shown in FIG. 14 can further include a memory 1403.

[0271] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product which can implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0272] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program which can realize the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0273] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer readable storage medium. All or part of the processes of the above method embodiments can be instructed by a computer program to relevant hardware to complete, the program can be stored in the above computer readable storage medium, and the program can include the processes of the above method embodiments when executed. The computer readable storage medium can be an internal storage unit of the terminal device (including a data sending end and / or a data receiving end) of any of the above embodiments, for example, a hard disk or a memory of the terminal device. The above computer readable storage medium can also be an external storage device of the terminal device, for example, a plug-in hard disk, a smart media card (SMC), a secure digital (SD) card, a flash card and the like equipped on the terminal device. Further, the above computer readable storage medium can include both the internal storage unit and the external storage device of the terminal device. The above computer readable storage medium is used to store the above computer program and other programs and data required by the terminal device. The above computer readable storage medium can also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or will be output.

[0274] It should be noted that the terms "first" and "second" and the like in the specification of the present application, claims and drawings are used to distinguish different objects, and are not used to describe a specific order. "First", "second" are only for description purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined with "first", "second" can explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. In the description of the present embodiment, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "a plurality of" is two or more.

[0275] In addition, the terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but can optionally include steps or units not listed or can optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0276] It should be understood that in the present application, "at least one" means one or more. "Multiple" means two or more. "At least two" means two or three and more. "And / or" is used to describe the relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean that there are three cases: only A, only B, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b or c, can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, and c can be single or multiple. "When" and "if" both mean that under certain objective circumstances, the corresponding processing will be done, not limited to time, and does not require a judgment action when implemented, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0277] In the embodiments of the present application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as an example or illustration. Any embodiment or design presented as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. Rather, the use of "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present relevant concepts in a concrete manner, facilitating understanding.

[0278] In the present application, "sending information to (a terminal device)" can be understood as the destination of the information is the terminal device. It can include direct or indirect sending of information to the terminal device. "Receiving information from (a terminal device)" can be understood as the source of the information is the terminal device, which can include direct or indirect receiving of information from the terminal device. The information may be processed as necessary between the source and the destination of the information transmission, such as format change, etc., but the destination can understand the valid information from the source.

[0279] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, only the above division of functional modules is taken as an example. In actual application, the above functions can be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0280] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method can be implemented by other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, for example, the division of the modules or units is merely a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another apparatus, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units or components shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, apparatuses or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0281] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can be one physical unit or a plurality of physical units, that is, can be located in one place or can be distributed to a plurality of different places. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment scheme.

[0282] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present separately, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0283] The integrated unit, if realized in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical scheme of the embodiment of the present application can be embodied in the form of a software product in essence or all or part of the technical scheme. The software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of instructions for causing an apparatus (which can be a single-chip microcomputer, a chip, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk and various program code storage media.

Claims

1. A method for using a network service, characterized in that, include: Obtain first configuration information, the first configuration information including information for indicating a first network service interface, the first network service interface being a call interface for a first network service provided by the network to the terminal device, and the first network service being a connectionless service; Based on the first configuration information, a first request is sent, which is used to request the use of the first network service through the first network service interface.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the first configuration information includes: The system receives the first configuration information from a first network element or an application server, wherein the first network element is a network element that provides the first network service interface control function.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain second configuration information, which is used to indicate the terminal device's usage rules for the first network service; Sending the first request based on the first configuration information includes: Based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information, the first request is sent.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The process of obtaining the second configuration information includes: The system receives the second configuration information from a first network element, which is a network element that provides the control function for the first network service interface.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, The usage rules include information for indicating a first mapping relationship, which includes the mapping relationship between the application programming interface of the terminal device and the first network service interface.

6. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The process of obtaining the second configuration information includes: The system receives the second configuration information from an application server or a first network element, where the first network element is the network element that provides the control function for the first network service interface.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The usage rules include control plane information, which is used to indicate the control plane parameters of the first network service interface; Sending the first request includes: The first request is sent via control plane signaling, which carries indication information of the first network service.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The control surface parameters include at least one of the following: The mapping relationship between the identification information of the terminal device and the first network service interface; The identifier of the first network service; The type of the first network service; or Information about the service processing function network element, which is used to provide the first network service.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that, The usage rules include user plane information, which is used to indicate the mapping relationship between session parameters and the first network service interface; The method further includes: Based on the user plane information, a user plane session is established between the terminal device and the second network element, where the second network element is a network element that provides user plane functions; Sending the first request includes: Send the first request to the second network element.

10. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 9, characterized in that, The usage rules include at least one of the following: The protocol type used when using the first network service; The usage method adopted when using the first network service; The usage parameters used when using the first network service; The message format used when using the first network service; The billing rules for the first network service interface; Information about the terminal device associated with the first network service interface; or, Information about the application (APP) associated with the first network service interface.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The first network service includes at least one of the following: Network services used to provide network data; Network services used to provide data processing; Used to provide network services for intelligent agents; or Network services used to provide data storage and retrieval.

12. A method for using a network service, characterized in that, include: Determine first configuration information, which includes information for indicating a first network service interface, wherein the first network service interface is a call interface for a first network service provided by the network to the terminal device, and the first network service is a connectionless service. Send the first configuration information.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: Determine second configuration information, which is used to indicate the terminal device's usage rules for the first network service; Send the second configuration information.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The usage rules include information for indicating a first mapping relationship, which includes a mapping relationship between the local application programming interface of the terminal device and the first network service interface. The sending of the first configuration information includes: Send the first configuration information to the terminal device; The sending of the second configuration information includes: The second configuration information is sent to the terminal device.

15. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a second request from the application server, the second request being used to request customization of the first network service; Sending the first configuration information includes: Based on the second request, the first configuration information is sent to the application server or the terminal device; Sending the second configuration information includes: Based on the second request, the second configuration information is sent to the application server or the terminal device.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The usage rules include control plane information, which is used to indicate the control plane parameters of the first network service interface.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The control surface parameters include at least one of the following: The mapping relationship between the identification information of the terminal device and the first network service interface; The identifier of the first network service; The type of the first network service; or Information about the service processing function network element, which is used to provide the first network service.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that, The usage rules include user plane information, which is used to indicate the mapping relationship between session parameters and the first network service interface.

19. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, characterized in that, The usage rules also include at least one of the following: The protocol type used when using the first network service; The usage method adopted when using the first network service; The usage parameters used when using the first network service; The message format used when using the first network service; The billing rules for the first network service interface; The identification information of the terminal device associated with the first network service interface; or, Information about the application (APP) associated with the first network service interface.

20. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first configuration information and the third configuration information are sent to the third network element. The third configuration information is used to indicate the forwarding rules for the first request from the terminal device. The third network element is a network element that provides message forwarding function. The first request is used to request to use the first network service through the first network service interface.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The third configuration information is also used to indicate the mapping relationship between the information of the first network service interface and the identifier of the service processing function network element, wherein the processing function network element is used to provide the first network service.

22. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 21, characterized in that, The first network service includes at least one of the following: Network services used to provide network data; Network services used to provide data processing; Used to provide network services for intelligent agents; or Network services used to provide data storage and retrieval.

23. A method for using a connectionless service, characterized in that, include: Receive a first request from a terminal device, the first request being used to request the use of a first network service through a first network service interface, the first network service being a connectionless service provided by the network to the terminal device; Based on the first configuration information and the third configuration information, the first request is forwarded. The first configuration information includes information for indicating the first network service interface, which is the calling interface of the first network service. The third configuration information is used to indicate the forwarding rules for the first request from the terminal device.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, The method further includes: The system receives the first configuration information and the third configuration information from a first network element, where the first network element is the network element that provides the first network service interface control function.

25. The method according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that, The third configuration information is also used to indicate the mapping relationship between the information of the first network service interface and the identifier of the service processing function network element, which is used to provide the first network service.

26. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 25, characterized in that, The first network service includes at least one of the following: Network services used to provide network data; Network services used to provide data processing; Used to provide network services for intelligent agents; or Network services used to provide data storage and retrieval.

27. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes units or modules for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 26.

28. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a processor for running computer programs or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 26.

29. The communication device according to claim 28, characterized in that, The communication device further includes a memory coupled to the processor, the memory being used to store the computer program or instructions.

30. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instructions stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program or instructions are executed, they cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 26.

31. A computer program product, wherein the computer program product includes a computer program, characterized in that, When the computer program is run on a computer, it causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 26.

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