CN101568162B

CN101568162B - Method and device for reselecting access network and user equipment

Info

Publication number: CN101568162B
Application number: CN2008101051096A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 于益俊; 王珊珊; 沈斌
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2008-04-25
Filing date: 2008-04-25
Publication date: 2011-12-28
Anticipated expiration: 2028-04-25
Also published as: WO2009129710A1; CN101568162A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to a method and a device for reselecting an access network, and user equipment, wherein the method for reselecting the access network comprises the following steps: acquiring current access network information of the user equipment; and transmitting reselection control information of the access network according to the current access network information of the user equipment, wherein the reselection control information of the access network is used for indicating the user equipment to execute corresponding access network reselection operations according to the reselection control information of the access network. The device for reselecting the access network comprises an acquisition module and a processing module. The embodiment allows the user equipment to accurately and timely perform an access network reselection strategy of operators, and the reselection operations of the access network by the user equipment have great pertinence, thus the operators can achieve operation control conveniently.

Description

Access network reselection method and device and user equipment

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular, to an access network reselection method and apparatus, and a user equipment.

Background

An Evolved Packet System (EPS) is a new communication network architecture defined according to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) plan formulated by 3 GPP. The network architecture only reserves a Packet domain, and is more flat compared with a General Packet Radio Service/Universal mobile telecommunications System (GPRS/UMTS) network architecture. Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a non-3GPP access system supported by an EPS network architecture in the prior art. As shown in fig. 1, one of the important characteristics of the EPS Network architecture is that a plurality of Access manners are considered to be merged, that is, a non-3GPP (non-3GPP) Network can be accessed to the EPS Network in the 3GPP EPS Network, where the non-3GPP Network may include a Worldwide Interoperability for microwave Access (WiMax), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and the like.

In order to meet the operation requirement of an operator for allowing a User Equipment (User Equipment, UE for short) to flexibly use multiple access modes to access a network under an EPS network architecture, the prior art provides a method for selecting and discovering an access network, which specifically includes the following steps:

step a1, user equipment registers in a certain access network, and after obtaining an IP address, the user equipment accesses the network and establishes an IP channel;

step a2, the user equipment sends an access network information acquisition request message to an Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) through an IP channel, where the request message carries current location information of the user equipment and access network type information supported by the user equipment;

step a3, the ANDSF sends the corresponding network discovery and selection information and the switching strategy to the user equipment according to the access information acquisition request message sent by the user equipment and the strategy preset by the operator;

step a4, when the user equipment meets certain conditions (for example, the current access network signal of the user equipment is poor, and the area where the user equipment is located has other target access networks supported by the user equipment), selecting one target access network according to the network discovery and selection information and the handover policy issued by the ANDSF, and initiating a corresponding intersystem handover procedure.

In the process of implementing the present invention, the inventor finds that the method for selecting and discovering the access network in the prior art has at least the following defects:

the handover decision between different access networks can only be executed by the ue, that is, after the ANDSF issues the network discovery and selection information and the handover policy to the ue, the ue usually does not perform handover immediately, but performs handover processing according to the current access network condition, for example: when the current access network condition is good, the user equipment can not execute the inter-system switching process; and when the current access network condition is not good, the user equipment can perform corresponding network switching processing. However, due to the load condition of the network or the policy of the operator (such as charging considerations), etc., the network side may need to select a new access network for some UEs registered in a certain access network, and there is no mechanism to meet such a requirement.

Disclosure of Invention

The first technical problem to be solved by the embodiment of the invention is as follows: an access network reselection method and an access network reselection device are provided for realizing access network reselection control of a network side on user equipment.

The second technical problem to be solved by the embodiment of the present invention is: an access network reselection method and user equipment are provided, which are used for implementing the corresponding access network reselection operation executed by the user equipment according to the requirement of a network side.

To solve the first technical problem, a first aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides an access network reselection method, including:

the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment;

the ANDSF transmits access network reselection control information to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment, wherein the access network reselection control information is used for indicating the user equipment to execute corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information;

the ANDSF acquiring the current access network information of the user equipment comprises the following steps:

the ANDSF receives an access network information request message sent by the user equipment; the access network information request message comprises the current access network information of the user equipment; the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment according to the access network information request message; or

The ANDSF sends an access network information request message to the user equipment, wherein the access network information request message is used for indicating the user equipment to report the current access network information of the user equipment; the ANDSF receives an access network information response message sent by the user equipment according to the access network information request message, and obtains the current access network information of the user equipment according to the access network information response message; the access network information response message comprises the current access network information of the user equipment; or

The ANDSF receives a policy indication message sent by a policy charging rule function entity, wherein the policy indication message comprises identification information of the user equipment and current access network information of the user equipment; the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment according to the strategy indication message; or

The ANDSF sends a policy request message to a policy charging rule function entity; the policy request message includes identification information of the user equipment, and is used for indicating the policy charging rule functional entity to report current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the identification information; the ANDSF receives a policy response message sent by the policy charging rule functional entity according to the policy request message, and acquires the current access network information of the user equipment according to the policy response message; the strategy response message comprises the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the identification information; or

The ANDSF receives an access network information request message or an access network type updating message sent by an access network gateway, wherein the access network information request message or the access network type updating message comprises identification information of the user equipment and current access network information of the user equipment; the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment according to the access network information request message or the access network type updating message; or

The ANDSF sends an access network type request message to an access network gateway, wherein the access network type request message comprises identification information of the user equipment and is used for indicating the access network gateway to report current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the identification information; the ANDSF receives an access network type response message sent by the access network gateway according to the access network type request message, and acquires the current access network information of the user equipment according to the access network type response message; the access network type response message comprises the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the identification information.

In the access network reselection method provided in the first aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, by acquiring the current access network information where the user equipment is located, and according to the current access network information of the user equipment, issuing corresponding access network reselection control information to the user equipment, and instructing the user equipment to perform an access network reselection operation, an access network reselection policy on a network side can be executed by the user equipment, so that access network reselection control of the user equipment by the network side is implemented, and thus, for example, network load balancing can be implemented, and operation management of an operator is facilitated.

In order to solve the first technical problem, a second aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides another method for reselecting an access network, including:

the ANDSF determines an access network needing to be adjusted;

the ANDSF acquires the current user equipment information of the access network needing to be adjusted;

the ANDSF transmits access network reselection control information to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the current user equipment information, wherein the access network reselection control information is used for indicating the user equipment to execute corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information;

the step of obtaining the current user equipment information of the access network needing to be adjusted by the ANDSF includes:

the ANDSF sends an access network information request message to an access network gateway corresponding to the access network to be adjusted according to the determined access network to be adjusted, wherein the access network information request message is used for indicating the access network gateway to report the user equipment information of the current access network as the access network to be adjusted; and the ANDSF receives an access network information response message sent by the access network gateway according to the access network information request message, wherein the access network information response message comprises the identification information of the user equipment of the access network needing to be adjusted, which is the current access network.

In the access network reselection method provided in the second aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the access network to be adjusted is determined, the user equipment information in the access network to be adjusted is obtained, the access network reselection control information is issued to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the current user equipment information, and the user equipment is instructed to perform the access network reselection operation, so that the access network to be adjusted can be issued to the corresponding user equipment, and the access network reselection control of the user equipment by the network side is realized, thereby realizing, for example, network load balancing, and facilitating the operation management of an operator.

In order to solve the second technical problem, a third aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a further method for reselecting an access network, including:

sending the current access network information of the user equipment to the ANDSF;

receiving access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and executing corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information;

the sending the current access network information of the user equipment to the ANDSF comprises: sending an access network information request message to the ANDSF, wherein the access network information request message comprises the current access network information; or sending an access network information response message to the ANDSF according to the received access network information request message sent by the ANDSF, wherein the access network information response message comprises the current access network information.

In the access network reselection method provided in the third aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, current access network information of a user equipment is sent to a network side by the user equipment, and when the user equipment receives corresponding access network reselection control information generated by the network side according to the current access network information of the user equipment, a corresponding access network reselection operation is executed according to the access network reselection control information, so that the network side can control access network reselection of the user equipment, thereby implementing network load balancing, and facilitating operation management of an operator.

To solve the first technical problem, a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides an access network discovery and selection function entity, including:

the acquisition module acquires the current access network information of the user equipment;

the processing module is used for issuing corresponding access network reselection control information to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment, wherein the access network reselection control information is used for indicating the user equipment to execute corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information;

the acquisition module at least comprises one of the following acquisition units:

a first obtaining unit, configured to receive an access network information request message sent by the user equipment, where the access network information request message includes current access network information of the user equipment; acquiring the current access network information of the user equipment according to the access network information request message;

a second obtaining unit, configured to issue an access network information request message to the user equipment, where the access network information request message is used to instruct the user equipment to report current access network information where the user equipment is located; receiving an access network information response message sent by the user equipment according to the access network information request message, and acquiring the current access network information of the user equipment according to the access network information response message, wherein the access network information response message comprises the current access network information of the user equipment;

a third obtaining unit, configured to receive a policy indication message sent by a policy charging rule function entity, where the policy indication message includes identification information of the user equipment and current access network information of the user equipment; acquiring the current access network information of the user equipment according to the strategy indication message;

a fourth obtaining unit, configured to send a policy request message to a policy and charging rules function entity, where the policy request message includes identification information of the user equipment, and is used to instruct the policy and charging rules function entity to report current access network information of the user equipment; receiving a policy response message sent by the policy charging rule functional entity according to the policy request message, and acquiring current access network information of the user equipment according to the policy response message, wherein the policy response message comprises the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the identification information;

a fifth obtaining unit, configured to receive an access network information request message sent by an access network gateway, where the access network information request message includes identification information of the user equipment and current access network information of the user equipment; acquiring the current access network information of the user equipment according to the access network information request message;

a sixth obtaining unit, configured to send an access network type request message to an access network gateway, where the access network type request message includes identification information of the user equipment, and is used to instruct the access network gateway to report current access network information of the user equipment; and receiving an access network type response message sent by the access network gateway according to the access network type request message, and acquiring the current access network information of the user equipment according to the access network type response message, wherein the access network type response message comprises the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the identification information.

In the access network discovery and selection functional entity provided in the fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, the obtaining module obtains current access network information where the user equipment is currently located, the processing module obtains corresponding access network reselection control information according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and issues the corresponding access network reselection control information, so as to instruct the user equipment to perform access network reselection operation, so that an access network reselection policy on a network side can be executed by the user equipment, thereby implementing access network reselection control on the user equipment by the network side, and thus implementing, for example, network load balancing, and facilitating operation management of an operator.

To solve the first technical problem, a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides another access network discovery and selection function entity, including:

the adjusting network determining module is used for determining an access network needing to be adjusted;

the user equipment information acquisition module is used for acquiring the current user equipment information of the access network needing to be adjusted;

a processing module, configured to issue access network reselection control information to the user equipment according to current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the current user equipment information, where the access network reselection control information is used to instruct the user equipment to perform corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information;

the user equipment information acquisition module comprises:

a request unit, configured to send an access network information request message to an access network gateway corresponding to an access network to be adjusted according to the access network to be adjusted determined by the adjustment network determining module, where the access network information request message is used to instruct the access network gateway to report user equipment information that a current access network is the access network to be adjusted;

an obtaining unit, configured to receive an access network information response message sent by the access network gateway according to the access network information request message, where the access network information response message includes identification information of a user equipment of an access network that needs to be adjusted and is currently accessed to.

In the access network discovery and selection functional entity provided in the fifth aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the adjustment network determination module is configured to determine an access network to be adjusted, the user equipment information acquisition module acquires user equipment information in the access network to be adjusted, and sends access network reselection control information to the user equipment, so that the user equipment can perform corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information, thereby implementing access network reselection control on the user equipment by a network side, and thus implementing network load balancing, and facilitating operation management of an operator.

In order to solve the second technical problem, a sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a user equipment, including:

the information sending module is used for sending the current access network information of the user equipment to the access network discovery and selection functional entity;

an access network reselection module, configured to receive access network reselection control information issued by an access network discovery and selection functional entity according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and execute a corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information;

the user equipment information acquisition module comprises:

In the user equipment provided in the sixth aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the current access network information of the user equipment is sent to the access network discovery and selection functional entity through the user equipment, and when the user equipment receives the corresponding access network reselection control information generated by the access network discovery and selection functional entity according to the current access network information of the user equipment, a corresponding access network reselection operation is executed according to the access network reselection control information, so that an access network reselection policy on a network side can be executed by the user equipment, and access network reselection control of the user equipment by the network side is implemented, so that network load balancing, operation management of an operator, and the like can be implemented.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a non-3GPP access system supported by an EPS network architecture in the prior art;

fig. 2a is a flowchart of a method for reselecting an access network according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2b is a flowchart illustrating a method for reselecting an access network according to a second embodiment of the present invention

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a method for reselecting an access network according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of a fourth embodiment of a method for reselecting an access network according to the present invention;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of a fifth embodiment of a method for reselecting an access network according to the present invention;

fig. 6 is a signaling diagram of a fifth embodiment of an access network reselection method according to the present invention;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of a sixth embodiment of a method for reselecting an access network according to the present invention;

fig. 8 is a signaling diagram of a sixth embodiment of a method for reselecting an access network according to the present invention;

fig. 9 is a flowchart of a seventh embodiment of a method for reselecting an access network according to the present invention;

fig. 10 is a signaling diagram of a seventh embodiment of a method for reselecting an access network according to the present invention;

fig. 11 is a flowchart of an eighth embodiment of a method for reselecting an access network according to the present invention;

fig. 12 is a signaling diagram of an eighth embodiment of a method for reselecting an access network according to the present invention;

fig. 13 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of another method for reselecting an access network according to the present invention;

fig. 14a is a flowchart of a second embodiment of a method for reselecting an access network according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 14b is a signaling diagram of a second embodiment of another method for reselecting an access network according to the present invention;

fig. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method for reselecting an access network according to yet another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of an access network reselection apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of an access network reselection apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of another access network reselection apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of another access network reselection apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 20 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a ue in the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention are further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

The current access network of the user equipment in the embodiment of the invention is the current access network of the user equipment; the current access network information of the user equipment may be information such as a type and an identifier of an access network where the user equipment is currently located.

Fig. 2a is a flowchart of a method for reselecting an access network according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2a, the present embodiment includes:

step 21a, ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment;

step 22a, according to the current access network information of the user equipment, issuing access network reselection control information to the user equipment, where the access network reselection control information is used to instruct the user equipment to execute a corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information.

Fig. 2b is a flowchart of a method for reselecting an access network according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2b, the present embodiment includes:

and step 21b, the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment.

And step 22b, generating access network reselection control information of the user equipment by the ANDSF according to the current access network information of the user equipment.

And step 23b, the ANDSF transmits the access network reselection control information to the user equipment, and instructs the user equipment to execute corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information.

In the above technical solution, in step 21a and/or step 21b, the implementation method for the ANDSF to acquire the current access network information of the user equipment may be actively reported to the ANDSF by the user equipment, the policy charging rule function entity or the access network gateway; or actively acquire the information from the user equipment, the policy and charging rule function entity or the access network gateway and other equipment through the ANDSF. For example: when the user equipment initiates an access network information request to the ANDSF, the current access network information of the user equipment can be reported to the ANDSF, and the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment from the access network information request reported by the user equipment; and when a preset condition is met, the ANDSF may actively initiate an access network information request to the user equipment, the user equipment sends current access network information of the user equipment to the ANDSF through an access network information response, and the ANDSF obtains the current access network information of the user equipment from the access network information response, for example: when the ANDSF needs to perform an access network reselection operation on the user equipment according to an operator policy, if the load of a plurality of access networks governed by the operator is unbalanced, or the load of a certain access network is too heavy or an operator policy such as a charging rule, the ANDSF may send an access network information request to the user equipment according to a preset operator policy or according to an operation maintenance instruction to acquire current access network information of the user equipment.

In step 22a or step 22b of the above technical solution, according to operator policies such as unbalanced load of a plurality of access networks governed by an operator, or overload of a certain access network or charging rules, the ANDSF may determine an access network that needs to be adjusted according to a preset operator policy or according to an operation maintenance instruction. The ANDSF may have a context of the user equipment pre-stored thereon. The context of the user equipment may include identification information of the user equipment, geographical location information, supported access network information, and the like. After the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment, the current access network information of the user equipment can be recorded into the context of the user equipment; the current access network information of the user equipment may not be recorded in the context of the user equipment.

The ANDSF may also have access network reselection policy information for the user equipment stored thereon. The access network reselection policy information may include operator-defined policies for network discovery and selection, handover rules, and other configuration information. The access network reselection policy information may be stored and maintained in the form of an access network information data table. The ANDSF may generate, according to the acquired current access network information of the user equipment, the stored access network reselection policy information, and the context of the user equipment, corresponding access network reselection control information of the user equipment for the user equipment under the access network that needs to be adjusted. That is, the access network reselection control information may be a specific control policy or rule that is formulated by the ANDSF for the user equipment according to the access network reselection policy information, and the context of the user equipment may include identification information, geographical location information, supported access network information, and the like of the user equipment.

The access network reselection policy information stored on the ANDSF may be pre-established and stored according to an operation policy formulated by an operator, for example: according to a charging strategy formulated by an operator, carrying out priority sequencing on a plurality of target access networks currently supported by the user equipment, or limiting a switching condition between the current access network and the target access network of the user equipment; in addition, the currently available destination access network and the like can be set for the user equipment according to the operation strategy of the operator.

The access network reselection control information may include destination access network information currently available to the user equipment, handover policy information, indication information for indicating that the user equipment performs corresponding access network reselection and handover operations, and the like. Specifically, the destination access network information currently available to the user equipment may be an access network list selected by the ANDSF for the user equipment according to the current location of the user equipment, the type of access networks supported by the user equipment (the two information may be recorded in the context of the user equipment), and the access network reselection policy information. When the number of the currently available destination access networks of the user equipment is multiple, the access network reselection control information may further include the prioritization information of the destination access networks. The priority ranking information of the destination access network may be obtained by the ANDSF ranking currently supported destination access network information of the user equipment according to a priority according to an operator policy (in prioritized order), or obtained by the ANDSF ranking according to a priority preference value of an operator (operator's preference value). For example: if the position of the current user equipment is only covered by the WiMax network and the WLAN network, and the user equipment also supports the two access network types, the WLAN network can be used as the target access network information to be sent to the user equipment; or, if the position where the user equipment is currently located has coverage of a non-3GPP WiMax network, a WLAN network and a 3GPP-LTE network, and the user equipment supports all three access network types, the WLAN network and the 3GPP-LTE network may be sent to the user equipment as a destination access network; however, if the operator policy defines that the user equipment is not allowed to switch from the WiMax network to the 3GPP-LTE network, the ANDSF can only send the WLAN network as the destination access network to the user equipment.

The switching policy information included in the access network reselection control information may be obtained by querying a pre-stored access network information data table by the ANDSF according to the current access network information where the user equipment is located, that is, the ANDSF obtains the current access network information where the user equipment is located in this implementation, and is applied to the selection of sending the inter-system mobility policy to the user equipment by the ANDSF, for example: the inter-system mobility policy includes operator-defined handover rules, which may be stored in the access network information data table. The handover rule is assumed to be whether or not to allow handover between two access networks, such as the operator "define WiMax cannot be handed over to WLAN network" in the handover rule. If the current access network type of the user equipment is the 3GPP-LTE network, the ANDSF does not need to send the strategy of 'limiting that WiMax cannot be switched to the WLAN' to the user equipment. If the current access network type information of the user equipment is the WiMax network, the ANDSF sends a switching strategy of limiting that the WiMax cannot be switched to the WLAN to the user equipment; alternatively, the related information of the WLAN network is directly excluded from the available access network information in the network discovery and selection information sent to the UE.

The indication message included in the Access network reselection control information may be an Access network reselection (Steering Access) identifier carried in the Access network reselection control information, and is used to indicate the user equipment to immediately perform a corresponding Access network reselection and handover operation, and also may be used to indicate the user equipment to perform a corresponding Access network reselection and handover operation in an idle state; namely: the user equipment can immediately initiate the measurement of the peripheral target access networks provided in the access network reselection control information according to the access network reselection control information, and select one target access network to execute the switching processing according to the priority of the target access network provided in the access network reselection control information and the actual available condition of the target access network. Alternatively, the above-mentioned measurement and handover processing of the user equipment to the access network of the peripheral destination may be executed temporarily according to the current status of the user equipment, and executed immediately when the current status of the user equipment satisfies a certain condition, for example: when user equipment receives access network reselection control information sent by ANDSF, the user equipment is carrying out a communication service, if the user equipment immediately executes access network reselection and switching operation at the moment, the interruption of the communication service may be caused, and the normal communication service of the user equipment is influenced, and at the moment, the access network reselection and switching operation can be executed again when the user equipment finishes the communication service.

In step 22a or step 23b of the above technical solution, an implementation method for issuing access network reselection control information by the ANDSF may be: loading the access network reselection control information in a response message of an access network information acquisition request message sent by user equipment; if the ANDSF and the user equipment are in service communication, the ANDSF can load the access network reselection control information into an interactive message between the ANDSF and the user equipment and send the interactive message to the user equipment; or, the ANDSF may also issue the access network reselection control information as an independent message to the user equipment. When receiving access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF, the user equipment can immediately execute corresponding access network reselection or switching operation according to the access network reselection control information; or the user equipment immediately performs corresponding access network reselection or switching operation in the idle state.

In this embodiment, current access network information where the user equipment is currently located is obtained through the ANDSF, and corresponding access network reselection control information is issued to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and the user equipment is instructed to perform corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information in the issued access network reselection control information, so that the ANDSF can instruct the user equipment to perform access network reselection according to the current access network information of the user equipment, thereby improving pertinence of reselection operation of access networks of the user equipment, facilitating network load balancing, and facilitating operation management of an operator.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an access network reselection method according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the ANDSF obtains the current access network information of the user equipment through a method for the user equipment to actively report the current access network information, as shown in fig. 3, this embodiment includes:

step 31, the user equipment sends an access network information request message to the ANDSF, where the access network information request message is used to request to acquire access network reselection control information corresponding to the user equipment, and the access network information request message may include current location information of the user equipment, access network information supported by the user equipment, and current access network information of the user equipment.

Step 32, the ANDSF receives an access network information request message sent by the user equipment, and obtains current location information, supported access network information, and current access network information of the user equipment according to the access network information request message.

Step 33, the ANDSF generates access network reselection control information of the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment.

Step 34, the ANDSF issues the generated access network reselection control information to the user equipment, and instructs the user equipment to perform corresponding access network reselection and/or switching operation according to the access network reselection control information in the access network reselection control information.

And step 35, the user equipment receives the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF, and executes corresponding access network reselection and/or switching operation according to the access network reselection control information.

In this embodiment, after the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the selected user equipment, the ANDSF acquires corresponding access network reselection control information according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and a method for processing the access network reselection control information by using the access network reselection control information, that is, the detailed descriptions of steps 33 to 35 may refer to the descriptions of step 22b and step 23b in the second embodiment of the access network reselection method of the present invention, and are not described again.

On the basis of the technical solution of this embodiment, the user equipment sending the access network information request message is not a necessary condition for initiating the access network reselection operation, and after the ANDSF obtains the current access network information of the user equipment, the ANDSF may also actively initiate the re-operation of the access network according to the operator policy (for example, balancing the network load, reducing the network load, etc.), that is: and the ANDSF directly executes the steps 33 to 35 according to the acquired current access network information of the user equipment to perform access network reselection processing.

In this embodiment, the user equipment reports the current network information of the user equipment in an access network information request message sent to the ANDSF, so that the ANDSF can acquire the current access network information of the user equipment; when ANDSF acquires the current network information of user equipment, the ANDSF can acquire corresponding access network reselection control information of the user equipment according to the current network information of the user equipment, when the user equipment receives the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF, the user equipment executes corresponding access network switching operation, so that the ANDSF can issue the corresponding access network reselection control information to the user equipment according to an operation strategy formulated by an operator according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF can be accurately and timely executed through the user equipment, thereby improving the pertinence of the reselection operation of the access network of the user equipment, being beneficial to balancing network load, being convenient for operation management of the operator, being beneficial to optimizing charging and reducing operation cost of the operator.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a method for reselecting an access network according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the method for the ANDSF to actively acquire the current access network information of the user equipment from the user equipment includes:

and step 41, the ANDSF determines the access network to be adjusted according to the pre-stored access network reselection policy information or the received access network reselection operation maintenance instruction.

In this step, when the ANDSF needs to perform an access network reselection operation on the user equipment according to the operator policy, for example, the load of a plurality of access networks governed by the operator is unbalanced or the load of a certain access network is too heavy, the ANDSF may perform an access network reselection process for the user equipment meeting the requirement according to the preset operator policy or according to the operation maintenance instruction. Wherein, the operation and maintenance instruction can be issued by a system maintenance center.

And step 42, the ANDSF sends an access network information request message to the ue, where the access network information request message is used to instruct each ue in the EPS system to report current access network information of each ue.

And step 43, each user equipment in the EPS system receives the access network information request message, and sends an access network information response message to the ANDSF according to the access network information request message issued by the ANDSF, wherein the access network information response message includes the current access network information where the user equipment is located.

Step 44, the ANDSF receives the access network information response message sent by the user equipment, obtains the current access network information of the user equipment according to the received access network information response message, and records the current access network information of the user equipment in the context of the user equipment.

And step 45, the ANDSF selects the current access network as all or part of the user equipment of the access network needing to be adjusted according to the collected current access network information of the user equipment.

When the ANDSF obtains information of a current access network where the user equipment is currently located (the information of the current access network may be a type of the current access network where the user equipment is currently located, and the like), the user equipment that needs to perform access network reselection is selected. For example: assuming that the current WiMax network is overloaded, some or all users in the WiMax network need to be transferred to other access networks, such as to a non-3GPP WLAN network, a 3GPP LTE network, and so on. At this time, the ANDSF selects a part of the user equipments currently in the WiMax network according to the recorded current access network information of the user equipments, and performs a reselection operation on the selected user equipments.

And step 46, generating the selected access network reselection control information of the user equipment by the ANDSF according to the current access network information of the user equipment.

And step 47, the ANDSF transmits the acquired access network reselection control information to the selected user equipment, and indicates the user equipment to perform corresponding access network reselection and switching operation according to the access network reselection control information in the access network reselection control information.

And step 48, the user equipment executes corresponding access network reselection and switching operation according to the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF.

In this embodiment, after the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the selected user equipment, the ANDSF acquires corresponding access network reselection control information according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and a method for processing the access network reselection control information by using the access network reselection control information, that is, the detailed descriptions of steps 46 to 48 may refer to the descriptions of step 22b and step 23b in the second embodiment of the access network reselection method of the present invention, and are not described again.

In this embodiment, before the ANDSF determines an access network to be adjusted and needs to perform network reselection, an access network information request message for instructing each user equipment in the EPS system to report current access network information of the user equipment is issued to the user equipment, so as to collect current access network information of the user equipment, the ANDSF selects all or part of the user equipment whose current access network is the access network to be adjusted according to the collected current access network of the user equipment, and sends corresponding access network reselection control information to the selected user equipment, so as to instruct the user equipment to perform corresponding access network reselection control operation, so that the ANDSF can issue the access network reselection control information to the corresponding user equipment according to the access network to be adjusted, thereby improving pertinence of the access network reselection operation performed on the user equipment, and the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF can be accurately and accurately transmitted by the user equipment, The method is executed in time, thereby being beneficial to balancing network load, facilitating the operation management of operators, simultaneously being beneficial to optimizing charging and reducing operation cost of the operators.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a fifth embodiment of an access network reselection method according to the present invention. Fig. 6 is a signaling diagram of a fifth embodiment of an access network reselection method according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the ANDSF obtains the current access network information of the user equipment through a method for actively reporting the current access network information of the user equipment by using a policy and charging function entity, as shown in fig. 5 and 6, this embodiment includes:

step 51, when the IP channel establishment or update process is executed between the user equipment and the access network gateway, the user equipment sends the current access network information of the user equipment to the access network gateway.

In order for a user equipment to use network discovery and selection functions, it needs to first register with an IP access network, for example: the EPS network of 3GPP or the WiMax, WLAN, etc. of non-3GPP acquires the IP address of the ue in the registration network through the registration process, and establishes an IP channel with the registration network. In a process of establishing or updating an IP channel between the ue and an access gateway of the registration network (specifically, in the case of the 3GPP EPS network, the IP channel establishing or updating process is an EPS bearer establishing or updating process), the ue may send information of a current access network where the ue is located to a corresponding access gateway of the registration network.

Step 52, the access network gateway sends a policy indication message to the policy charging rule function entity, where the policy indication message includes the current access network information of the user equipment and the identification information of the user equipment.

In the process of establishing an IP channel between the ue and the access network gateway, the access network gateway performs Policy Control and Charging (PCC) information interaction with the Policy Charging rule function entity, and in the interaction process, the access network gateway may send a Policy indication message including current access network information of the ue to the Policy Charging rule function entity.

And step 53, the policy charging rule function entity receives and analyzes the policy indication message, establishes and stores a mapping relation between the user equipment identifier and the current access network information of the user equipment, and sends the policy indication message to the corresponding ANDSF according to the received or preconfigured address information of the ANDSF.

In this step, the policy charging rules function entity may obtain the ANDSF address information in a manner of configuring the ANDSF address information in the policy charging rules function entity in advance, or the access network gateway may bear the ANDSF address information in the policy indication message and send the ANDSF address information to the policy charging rules function entity in the interaction process of policy control and charging information between the access network gateway and the policy charging rules function entity.

Step 54, the ANDSF receives the policy indication message sent by the policy charging rule function entity, obtains and stores the identification information of the user equipment and the current access network information of the user equipment according to the policy indication message, and the ANDSF may record the current access network information of the user equipment into the context of the user equipment. Optionally, this step may further include sending, by the ANDSF, a policy indication response message to the policy charging rule function entity.

Step 55, the user equipment sends an access network information request message for acquiring the access network information of the current user equipment to the ANDSF, where the request message may include the identification information of the user equipment and the current location information of the user equipment.

Step 56, the ANDSF obtains the current access network information of the user equipment according to the identification information of the user equipment, and generates access network reselection control information corresponding to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment.

Step 57, the ANDSF issues corresponding access network reselection control information to the user equipment, and instructs the user equipment to perform corresponding access network reselection and handover operations according to the access network reselection control information;

and step 58, the user equipment receives the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF, and executes corresponding access network reselection and switching operation according to the access network reselection control information.

In this embodiment, after the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment, the ANDSF acquires corresponding access network reselection control information according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and a method for processing the access network reselection control information by using the access network reselection control information, that is, the detailed descriptions of step 56 to step 58 may refer to the descriptions of step 22b and step 23b in the second embodiment of the access network reselection method of the present invention, and are not described again.

On the basis of the technical solution of this embodiment, the request for obtaining the current access network reselection control information of the user equipment sent by the user equipment is not a necessary condition for initiating the access network reselection operation, and after the ANDSF obtains the current access network information of the user equipment through step 54, the ANDSF may directly execute step 56-step 58 to perform the access network reselection processing when needed according to the operator policy (for example, to balance the network load, reduce the network load, and the like).

In the embodiment, the policy charging function entity actively reports the current access network information of the user equipment to the ANDSF, so that the ANDSF can acquire and store the current access network information of the user equipment; when user equipment sends a request for acquiring access network reselection control information to ANDSF (access network selection and reselection control function) or when access network reselection operation is triggered according to operator strategies, the ANDSF can acquire current access network information of the user equipment according to user equipment identification information of the user equipment sending the request or select user equipment meeting the current access network information condition according to the strategy for triggering the access network reselection, generate corresponding access network reselection control information according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and instruct the user equipment to execute corresponding access network reselection and switching operation immediately or in an idle state according to the access network reselection control information, so that the ANDSF can issue the corresponding access network reselection control information to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment, the pertinence of executing the access network reselection control operation on the user equipment is improved, and the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF can be accurately and accurately issued by the user equipment, The method is executed in time, thereby being beneficial to balancing network load, facilitating the operation management of operators, simultaneously being beneficial to optimizing charging and reducing operation cost of the operators.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method for reselecting an access network according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 8 is a signaling diagram of a sixth embodiment of an access network reselection method according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the ANDSF actively acquires the current access network information of the user equipment from the policy and charging function entity, as shown in fig. 7 and 8, the embodiment includes:

step 71, when an IP channel establishment or update procedure is executed between the user equipment and the access network gateway, the user equipment sends the current access network information of the user equipment to the access network gateway.

Step 72, the access network gateway sends a message including the current access network information of the user equipment and the identification information of the user equipment to the policy charging rule function entity.

And 73, the policy charging rule function entity receives and analyzes the message, establishes a mapping relation between the user equipment identifier and the current access network information of the user equipment, and stores the mapping relation.

Step 74, the user equipment sends an access network information request message of the current user equipment to the ANDSF, where the request message may include identification information of the user equipment and current location information of the user equipment.

Step 75, after receiving the request message sent by the user equipment, the ANDSF sends a policy request message to the policy charging rule function entity; the policy request message includes identification information of the user equipment; the policy request message is used to instruct the policy charging rule function entity to report the current access network information of the user equipment.

In this step, the manner of obtaining the address information of the policy and charging rule function entity by the ANDSF may be that the address information of the policy and charging rule function entity is pre-configured in the ANDSF, or that the address information of the policy and charging rule function entity storing the current access network information of the user equipment is carried in an access network information request message sent by the user equipment to the ANDSF.

And step 76, the policy charging rule function entity receives the policy request message, acquires the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the user equipment identifier stored on the policy charging rule function entity according to the user equipment identifier carried in the policy request message, and sends a policy response message to the ANDSF, where the policy response message includes the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the user equipment identifier included in the policy request message.

And 77, acquiring the current access network information of the user equipment according to the strategy response message by the ANDSF, and generating the current access network reselection control information of the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment.

And step 78, the ANDSF issues corresponding access network reselection control information to the user equipment, and instructs the user equipment to perform corresponding access network reselection and/or handover operation according to the access network reselection control information.

And 79, the user equipment receives the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF, and executes corresponding access network reselection and/or switching operation according to the access network reselection control information.

In this embodiment, after the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment, the ANDSF acquires corresponding access network reselection control information according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and a method for processing the access network reselection control information by using the access network reselection control information, that is, the detailed description of steps 77 to 79 may refer to the records of step 22b and step 23b in the second embodiment of the access network reselection method of the present invention, which is not described again.

On the basis of the technical solution of this embodiment, it is not a necessary condition for initiating the access network reselection operation that the user equipment sends the acquisition request for acquiring the current access network reselection control information of the user equipment, and after the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment, the ANDSF may also directly initiate the access network reselection process according to the operator policy, that is, in step 75, the ANDSF initiates the policy request message to the policy charging rule function entity not according to the received request message of the UE but according to the operator policy trigger. At this time, the ANDSF directly performs steps 75 to 79 according to the obtained current access network information of the user equipment.

In this embodiment, when receiving an acquisition request sent by a user equipment for acquiring access network reselection control information, an ANDSF actively sends a policy request message to a policy charging function entity storing current access network information of the user equipment, so that the ANDSF can acquire and store the current access network information of the user equipment; the ANDSF can generate corresponding access network reselection control information according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and instruct the user equipment to execute corresponding access network reselection and switching operation immediately or in an idle state according to the access network reselection control information, so that the ANDSF can issue the corresponding access network reselection control information to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment, the pertinence of executing the access network reselection operation on the user equipment is improved, the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF can be accurately and timely executed through the user equipment, the network load is favorably balanced, the operation management of an operator is facilitated, and meanwhile, the optimization charging and the reduction of the operation cost of the operator are facilitated.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart of a method for reselecting an access network according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 10 is a signaling diagram of a method for reselecting an access network according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the access network gateway provides current access network information of the user equipment to the ANDSF, as shown in fig. 9 and 10, this embodiment includes:

step 91, when an IP channel establishment or update procedure is executed between the user equipment and the access network gateway, the user equipment sends the current access network information of the user equipment to the access network gateway.

In order for a user equipment to use network discovery and selection functions, it needs to first register with an IP access network, for example: the EPS network of 3GPP or the WiMax, WLAN, etc. of non-3GPP obtains the IP address of the ue in the registration network through the registration procedure, and establishes an IP channel with the registration network. In a process of establishing or updating an IP channel between the ue and an access gateway of the registration network (specifically, in the case of the 3GPP EPS network, the IP channel establishing or updating process is an EPS bearer establishing or updating process), the ue may send information of a current access network where the ue is located to a corresponding access gateway of the registration network.

Step 92, the user equipment sends an access network information request message to the ANDSF, where the request message is encapsulated into an IP data packet and sent to the access network gateway through the two-layer tunnel of the access network, and the access network gateway adds a specific cell for providing current access network information of the user equipment in the request message, that is: and forming an access network information request message and forwarding the access network information request message to the ANDSF.

In this step, the access network gateway may obtain the address information of the ANDSF in the following manner: the access network gateway analyzes the destination IP address information of the access network information request message sent by the user equipment to the ANDSF, and acquires the address information of the ANDSF; or, when the user equipment sends the current access network information of the user equipment to the access network gateway in step 91, the user equipment sends the address information of the access network gateway ANDSF; or address information of the ANDSF is preconfigured on the access network gateway, etc.

Step 93, the ANDSF receives and analyzes the request message including the specific cell forwarded by the access gateway, acquires and stores the current access network information of the user equipment, and generates access network reselection control information corresponding to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment.

And step 94, the ANDSF issues corresponding access network reselection control information to the user equipment, and instructs the user equipment to perform corresponding access network reselection and handover operations according to the access network reselection control information.

And step 95, the user equipment receives the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF, and executes corresponding access network reselection and switching operation according to the access network reselection control information.

Step 96, the access network gateway detects whether the current access network information of the user equipment is changed, and when the current access network information of the user equipment is changed, an access network type updating message is sent to the ANDSF, wherein the access network type updating message comprises the identification information of the user equipment and the updated current access network information of the user equipment.

Step 97, receiving the access network type update message sent by the access network gateway by the ANDSF, and replacing the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the user equipment identifier stored in the ANDSF with the current access network information of the user equipment in the access network type update message.

In this embodiment, after the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment, the ANDSF acquires corresponding access network reselection control information according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and a method for processing the access network reselection control information by using the access network reselection control information, that is, detailed descriptions of steps 93 to 95 may refer to records of step 22b and step 23b in the second embodiment of the access network reselection method of the present invention, which is not described again.

On the basis of the technical solution of this embodiment, the request for obtaining the current access network reselection control information of the user equipment sent by the user equipment is not a necessary condition for initiating the access network reselection operation, and after the ANDSF obtains the current access network information of the user equipment, the ANDSF may also directly initiate the access network reselection process according to the operator policy, and at this time, step 94 and step 95 may be directly performed according to the obtained current access network information of the user equipment.

In the embodiment, the current access network information of the user equipment is actively provided to the ANDSF through the access network gateway, so that the ANDSF can acquire and store the current access network information of the user equipment; and when the access network gateway detects that the current access network information of the user equipment changes, the current access network information updated by the user equipment is sent to the ANDSF, and the current access network information of the user equipment stored on the ANDSF is updated, so that the ANDSF can issue corresponding access network reselection control information to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment, the pertinence of the access network reselection operation performed on the user equipment is improved, and the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF can be accurately and timely executed by the user equipment, thereby being beneficial to balancing network load, being convenient for operation management of operators, being beneficial to optimizing charging of the operators and reducing operation cost.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart of an eighth embodiment of a method for reselecting an access network according to the present invention. Fig. 12 is a signaling diagram of an eighth embodiment of a method for reselecting an access network according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the access network gateway provides current access network information of the user equipment to the ANDSF, as shown in fig. 11 and 12, this embodiment includes:

and step 111, when an IP channel establishing or updating process is executed between the user equipment and the access network gateway, the user equipment sends the current access network information of the user equipment to the access network gateway.

Step 112, the user equipment sends an access network information request message to the ANDSF, where the request message includes IP address information of an access network gateway.

113, ANDSF receives a request message sent by a user equipment, and sends an access network type request message to an access network gateway corresponding to the access network gateway IP address information included in the request message, where the access network type request message includes identification information of the user equipment; the access network type request message is used for indicating an access network gateway to report the current access network information of the user equipment.

Step 114, the access network gateway sends an access network type response message to the ANSDF according to the access network type request message, where the access network type response message includes the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the identification information of the user equipment.

Step 115, the ANDSF receives the access network type request message, acquires and stores the current access network information of the user equipment according to the access network type request message, and generates access network reselection control information corresponding to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment.

And step 116, the ANDSF issues corresponding access network reselection control information to the user equipment, and instructs the user equipment to perform corresponding access network reselection and handover operations according to the access network reselection control information.

And step 117, the user equipment receives the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF, and executes corresponding access network reselection and switching operation according to the access network reselection control information.

In this embodiment, after the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment, the ANDSF acquires corresponding access network reselection control information according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and a method for processing the access network reselection control information by using the access network reselection control information, that is, detailed descriptions of steps 115 to 117 may refer to records of step 22b and step 23b in the second embodiment of the access network reselection method of the present invention, which is not described again.

On the basis of the technical solution of this embodiment, step 113 to step 115 may be in a different processing flow from step 111 to step 112, that is, the ANDSF may perform step 113 to step 115 to acquire the type of the access network where the user equipment is currently located according to the recorded address of the access network gateway only when needed. After the ANDSF obtains the current access network information of the user equipment, the ANDSF may also perform steps 116 to 117 separately according to the operator policy.

In the embodiment, the ANDSF actively sends the access network type request message to the access network gateway, so that the ANDSF can acquire and store the current access network information of the user equipment; after the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment, the ANDSF can issue corresponding access network reselection control information to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment, the pertinence of access network reselection operation executed on the user equipment is improved, the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF can be accurately and timely executed through the user equipment, network load balancing is facilitated, operation management of an operator is facilitated, and meanwhile optimization charging and operation cost reduction of the operator are facilitated.

Another method for reselecting an access network according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

determining an access network needing to be adjusted;

acquiring the current user equipment information of the access network to be adjusted;

and issuing access network reselection control information to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the current user equipment information, wherein the access network reselection control information is used for indicating the user equipment to execute corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information.

Obviously, another access network reselection method according to the embodiment of the present invention is to acquire the current user equipment information in the access network according to the access network that needs to be adjusted, so that the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the current user equipment information is the determined access network that needs to be adjusted.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart of another method for reselecting an access network according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 13a, the present embodiment includes:

step 131, determining an access network to be adjusted;

step 132, obtaining the current user equipment information of the access network to be adjusted;

step 133, issuing access network reselection control information to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the current user equipment information, where the access network reselection control information is used to instruct the user equipment to execute a corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information.

Fig. 14a is a flowchart of another method for reselecting an access network according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 14b is a signaling diagram of another second embodiment of the method for reselecting an access network according to the present invention. As shown in fig. 14a and 14b, the present embodiment includes: or operator policy such as charging rules

Step 141, ANDSF may determine the access network to be adjusted according to the operator policy such as unbalanced load of a plurality of access networks governed by the operator, or overload of a certain access network or charging rule, or according to the operation maintenance instruction.

And step 142, the ANDSF sends an access network information request message to an access network gateway or a mobile control entity corresponding to the access network to be adjusted according to the determined access network to be adjusted, where the access network information request message is used to instruct the access network gateway or the mobile control entity to report user equipment information that the current access network is the access network to be adjusted.

In this step, the Access Network Gateway may be a Packet Data Gateway (P-GW) of the LTE Network of 3GPP, an Access Service Network Gateway (ASN GW) of the WinMax Network of non-3GPP, a Packet Data Gateway (PDG) of the WLAN Network, or the like; the Mobility control Entity may be a Mobility Management Entity (MME) of an LTE network of 3GPP, or the like.

And step 143, the access network gateway or the mobile control entity receives the access network information request message, and acquires the user equipment information of the access network which needs to be adjusted currently according to the access network information request message.

The processing flow of the access network gateway or the mobile control entity in acquiring the user equipment information currently in the access network that needs to be adjusted is based on an actual network implementation process, and the processing modes of different access networks may be different, for example: the access network gateway or the mobile control entity can perform network measurement or statistics on the access network to be adjusted according to the access network information request message to obtain the user equipment information of the current access network to be adjusted; or, the access network gateway or the mobile control entity may also obtain information of the user equipment currently in the access network that needs to be adjusted according to a mapping relationship between the user equipment identifier stored in the access network gateway or the mobile control entity itself and the current access network information of the user equipment, and so on.

Step 144, after acquiring the user equipment information currently in the access network to be adjusted, the access network gateway or the mobile control entity sends an access network information response message to the ANDSF, where the access network information response message includes identification information of the user equipment currently in the access network to be adjusted.

The identification information of the user equipment may be a permanent identification of the user equipment, for example: an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the user equipment, an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) number (MSISDN) or a Network Access Identity (NAI) of a Mobile Station (MS); alternatively, the identification information of the user equipment may also be a temporary identification of the user equipment, for example: a Global Unique Temporary Identity (GUTI), a Packet temporary mobile Station Identity (P-TMSI), or an IP address of the ue.

145, receiving the access network information response message by the ANDSF, acquiring the user equipment information of the access network which needs to be adjusted for the current access network by analyzing the access network information response message, selecting all or part of the user equipment which needs to perform network reselection operation from the user equipment, and generating access network reselection control information for the selected user equipment according to the current access network information of the selected user equipment.

In this step, the context of the ue may be stored in advance in the ANDSF. The context of the user equipment may include identification information of the user equipment, geographical location information, supported access network information, and the like. After the ANDSF acquires the current access network information of the user equipment, the current access network information of the user equipment can be recorded into the context of the user equipment; the current access network information of the user equipment may not be recorded in the context of the user equipment.

The ANDSF may also have access network reselection policy information for the user equipment stored thereon. The access network reselection policy information may include a switching rule and the like formulated by an operator, and may be stored and maintained in a manner of an access network information data table. The ANDSF may query an access network information data table stored in the ANDSF according to a context of the user equipment including current access network information of the user equipment or according to the current access network information of the user equipment and the context of the user equipment, and obtain access network reselection control information corresponding to the user equipment.

The ANDSF may generate corresponding access network reselection control information for the user equipment according to the acquired current access network information of the user equipment, the stored access network reselection policy information, and the context of the user equipment. The access network reselection control information is used for indicating the user equipment to execute corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information. The access network reselection control information may include an access network reselection identifier, where the access network reselection identifier is used to instruct the user equipment to perform a corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection identifier. Specifically, the ANDSF may set destination access network information for the user equipment according to the acquired current access network information of the user equipment, the stored access network reselection policy information, and the context of the user equipment, where the destination access network information is used to instruct the user equipment to switch to a destination access network corresponding to the destination access network information, and so on.

Step 146, the ANDSF issues the corresponding access network reselection control information to the selected user equipment, and instructs the user equipment to execute the corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information.

In this step, when the access network reselection control information includes the target access network information, and the ANDSF issues the corresponding access network reselection control information to the selected user equipment, the user equipment is instructed to switch to the target access network corresponding to the target access network information.

And 147, the user equipment receives the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF, and executes a corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information. And when the access network reselection control information comprises the target access network information, the user equipment is switched to the target access network corresponding to the target access network information according to the target access network information.

In this embodiment, after the ANDSF obtains the current access network information of the user equipment, the ANDSF generates corresponding access network reselection control information according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and a method for processing the access network reselection control information by using the access network reselection control information, that is, the detailed description of steps 145 to 147 may refer to the descriptions of step 22b and step 23b in the second embodiment of the access network reselection method of the present invention, and details are not repeated.

In this embodiment, when performing access network reselection on a current user equipment in an access network according to an operator policy, the ANDSF may request a corresponding access network gateway or a mobile control entity to report information of the user equipment currently in the access network to be adjusted, select all or part of the user equipment according to the received information of the user equipment, and issue access network reselection control information to the user equipment, so as to improve pertinence of performing access network reselection operation on the user equipment, and the access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF may be accurately and timely performed by the user equipment, which is beneficial to balancing network load, facilitating operation management of an operator, and is beneficial to optimizing charging and reducing operation cost of the operator.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an access network reselection method according to still another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 15, the present embodiment includes:

step 151, the ue sends the current access network information of the ue to the network side.

The network side may be an ANDSF, an access network gateway, or a mobile control entity. For example, when the network side is ANDSF, the sending, by the ue, the current access network information of the ue to the network side may be: the user equipment actively sends the current access network information of the user equipment to the ANDSF; or the user equipment reports the current access network information of the user equipment to the ANDSF according to the access network information request message sent by the ANDSF. When the network side is an access network gateway, the sending, by the user equipment, the current access network information of the user equipment to the network side may be: when an IP channel establishing or updating process is executed between user equipment and an access network gateway, the user equipment sends the current access network information of the user equipment to the access network gateway; or, when the access network gateway performs network measurement or statistics, the user equipment sends the current access network information to the access network gateway. When the network side comprises the access network gateway and the ANDSF, the user equipment can send the current access network information of the user equipment to the access network gateway, and the access network gateway sends the current access network information to the ANDSF and the like.

Step 152, the user equipment receives the access network reselection control information issued by the network side according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and executes corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information.

And the access network reselection control information received by the user equipment is used for indicating the user equipment to execute corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information. Specifically, the access network reselection control information may include an access network reselection identifier; and when the access network reselection control information comprises an access network reselection identifier, the user equipment executes corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection identifier. The access network reselection control information may also include destination access network information; and the access network reselection control information comprises target access network information, and the user equipment is switched to a target access network corresponding to the target access network information according to the target access network information.

In the embodiment, the current access network information of the user equipment is sent to the network side by the user equipment, and when the user equipment receives the corresponding access network reselection control information generated by the network side according to the current access network information of the user equipment, the corresponding access network reselection operation is executed according to the access network reselection control information, so that the network side can control the access network reselection of the user equipment, the pertinence of the network side in executing the access network reselection operation on the user equipment is improved, the network load balancing is facilitated, the operation management of an operator is facilitated, and meanwhile, the optimization charging of the operator and the reduction of the operation cost are facilitated.

Fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of an access network reselection apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 16, the present embodiment includes an acquisition module 161 and a processing module 162.

The obtaining module 161 is configured to obtain information of a current access network of the user equipment.

The processing module 162 is configured to issue corresponding access network reselection control information to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment acquired by the acquiring module 161, where the access network reselection control information is used to instruct the user equipment to perform corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information.

The access network reselection device is specifically applied to an EPS network architecture, and is an access network discovery and selection function entity (ANDSF).

In this embodiment, the obtaining module obtains the current access network information where the user equipment is currently located, and the processing module issues corresponding access network reselection control information to the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment, so that an access network reselection policy of an operator can be more targeted by the user equipment to accurately and timely perform reselection operation of an access network of the user equipment, thereby facilitating the operator to implement operation control.

Fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of an access network reselection apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment of the access network reselection device in the present invention is that the acquiring module 161 in this embodiment at least includes a first acquiring unit 1611, a second acquiring unit 1612, a third acquiring unit 1613, a fourth acquiring unit 1614, a fifth acquiring unit 1615, or a sixth acquiring unit 1616; the processing module 162 includes a storage unit 1621, a generation unit 1622, an adjustment network determination unit 1623, a selection unit 1624, and a transmission unit 1625.

In the obtaining module 161, the first obtaining unit 1611 is configured to receive an access network information request message sent by a user equipment, where the access network information request message includes current location information of the user equipment, supported access network information, and current access network information, and is used to request to obtain corresponding access network reselection control information; and obtaining the current access network information of the user equipment according to the access network information request message.

The second obtaining unit 1612 is configured to issue an access network information request message to the ue, where the access network information request message is used to instruct the ue to report current access network information of the ue; receiving an access network information response message sent by the user equipment according to the access network information request message, and obtaining the current access network information of the user equipment according to the access network information response message, wherein the access network information response message comprises the current access network information of the user equipment.

The third obtaining unit 1613 is configured to receive a policy indication message sent by the policy and charging rule function entity, where the policy indication message includes identification information of the user equipment and current access network information of the user equipment; and acquiring the current access network information of the user equipment according to the strategy indication message.

The fourth obtaining unit 1614 is configured to send a policy request message to the policy and charging rule function entity, where the policy request message includes identification information of the user equipment, and is used to instruct the policy and charging rule function entity to report current access network information of the user equipment; and receiving a policy response message sent by the policy charging rule function entity according to the policy request message, and acquiring the current access network information of the user equipment according to the policy response message, wherein the policy response message comprises the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the identification information.

A fifth obtaining unit 1615 is configured to receive an access network information request message sent by an access network gateway, where the access network information request message includes identification information of the user equipment and current access network information of the user equipment; and acquiring the current access network information of the user equipment according to the access network information request message.

A sixth obtaining unit 1616, configured to send an access network type request message to the access network gateway, where the access network type request message includes identification information of the user equipment, and is used to instruct the access network gateway to report current access network information of the user equipment; and receiving an access network type response message sent by the access network gateway according to the access network type request message, and acquiring the current access network information of the user equipment according to the access network type response message, wherein the access network type response message comprises the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the identification information.

In the processing module 162, the storage unit 1621 is configured to store the access network reselection policy information and the context of the user equipment, and/or record the current access network information of the user equipment, which is acquired by the acquiring module 161, in the context of the corresponding user equipment. The access network reselection policy information and the context of the user equipment may be stored in the same storage unit, or may be stored in different storage sub-units, respectively, and so on.

The generating unit 1622 is configured to generate, according to the current access network information of the user equipment acquired by the acquiring module 161, the access network reselection policy information and the context of the user equipment, where the access network reselection policy information and the context of the user equipment are stored in the storing unit 1622, corresponding access network reselection control information of the user equipment, where the access network reselection control information is used to instruct the user equipment to perform a corresponding access network reselection operation, and specifically, the access network reselection control information may include an access network reselection identifier; and when the access network reselection control information comprises an access network reselection identifier, the user equipment executes corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection identifier. The access network reselection control information may also include destination access network information; and the access network reselection control information comprises target access network information, and the user equipment is switched to a target access network corresponding to the target access network information according to the target access network information.

The adjusting network determining unit 1623 is configured to determine an access network that needs to be adjusted according to the access network reselection policy information stored in the storage unit 1621 or the received access network reselection operation maintenance instruction from the system maintenance center.

The selecting unit 1624 is configured to select, from the storage unit 1621, a user equipment whose current access network is an access network that needs to be adjusted and corresponding access network reselection control information, and send the selected user equipment to the generating unit 1622.

The transmitting unit 1625 is configured to transmit the access network reselection control information generated by the generating unit 1622 to a corresponding user equipment.

The method for acquiring the current access network information of the user equipment is not limited in the embodiment, and the user equipment can report to the access network reselection device through the first acquisition unit, the access network reselection device actively requests the user equipment to report through the second acquisition unit, the policy charging rule functional entity reports to the access network reselection device through the third acquisition unit, the access network reselection device actively requests the policy charging rule functional entity to report through the fourth acquisition unit, the access network gateway reports to the access network reselection device through the fifth acquisition unit, and/or the access network reselection device actively requests the access network gateway to report through the sixth acquisition unit; when the acquisition module acquires the current access network information of the user equipment and the processing module can determine the access network to be adjusted, the processing module selects the user equipment meeting the conditions according to the stored current access network information of the user equipment, acquires the access network reselection control information corresponding to the user equipment and transmits the access network reselection control information to the user equipment, so that the pertinence of the access network reselection operation executed by the access network reselection device on the user equipment is improved, the access network reselection control information transmitted by the access network reselection device can be accurately and timely executed through the user equipment, the network load balancing is facilitated, the operation management of an operator is facilitated, the optimization charging of the operator is facilitated, and the operation cost is reduced.

Fig. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of another access network reselection apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 18, the present embodiment includes an adjustment network determining module 181, a user equipment information obtaining module 182, and a processing module 183.

The adjusting network determining module 181 is used to determine the access network that needs to be adjusted.

The user equipment information obtaining module 182 is configured to obtain current user equipment information of the access network that needs to be adjusted according to the access network that needs to be adjusted and determined by the adjustment network determining module 181.

The processing module 183 is configured to issue access network reselection control information to the user equipment according to the current user equipment information acquired by the user equipment information acquiring module 182 and according to the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the current user information, where the access network reselection control information is used to instruct the user equipment to perform corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information.

Obviously, in this embodiment, the current user equipment information in the access network is obtained according to the access network that needs to be adjusted, so the current access network information of the user equipment corresponding to the current user equipment information is the access network that needs to be adjusted and determined by the adjustment network determining module 181.

In this embodiment, the adjustment network determining module is used to determine an access network to be adjusted, the ue information obtaining module obtains ue information in the access network to be adjusted, selects all or part of the ues, and sends the access network reselection control information to the selected ues, so that the ues can perform corresponding access network reselection operations according to the access network reselection control information, the access network reselection apparatus can issue the access network reselection control information to the corresponding ues according to the access network to be adjusted, thereby improving the pertinence of the access network reselection operations performed on the ues, and the access network reselection control information issued by the access network reselection apparatus can be accurately and timely performed by the ues, which is beneficial to balancing network loads, facilitating the operation management of operators, and simultaneously beneficial to optimizing charging, etc. of the operators, And the operation cost is reduced.

Fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of another access network reselection apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 19, the difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment of another access network reselection apparatus of the present invention is that the user equipment information obtaining module 182 of this embodiment includes a requesting unit 1821 and an obtaining unit 1822; the processing module 183 includes a storage unit 1831, a generation unit 1832, and a transmission unit 1833.

In the user equipment information obtaining module 182, the request unit 1821 is configured to send an access network information request message to an access network gateway corresponding to the access network that needs to be adjusted according to the access network that needs to be adjusted and is determined by the adjusted network determining module 181, where the access network information request message is used to instruct the access network gateway to report user equipment information that the current access network is the access network that needs to be adjusted.

The obtaining unit 1822 is configured to receive an access network information response message sent by the access network gateway according to the access network information request message, where the access network information response message includes identification information of a user equipment of an access network that needs to be adjusted and is currently accessed to the access network, and obtain, according to the access network information response message, user equipment information of the access network that needs to be adjusted and is currently accessed to the access network.

In the processing module 183, the storage unit 1831 is configured to store the access network reselection policy information and the context of the user equipment.

The generating unit 1832 is configured to generate corresponding access network reselection control information of the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment (i.e., the access network information that needs to be adjusted), the access network reselection policy information stored in the storing unit 1831, and the context of the user equipment, and forward the access network reselection control information to the sending unit 1833.

The sending unit 1833 is configured to send the generated access network reselection control information to the corresponding user equipment.

In this embodiment, the adjustment network determining module is configured to determine an access network to be adjusted, obtain current user equipment information of the access network through an access network gateway corresponding to the access network to be adjusted, select all or part of the user equipment, and generate access network reselection control information of the user equipment through the generating unit, so that the user equipment can perform corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information, thereby improving pertinence of performing access network reselection operation on the user equipment, facilitating network load balancing, facilitating operation management of an operator, facilitating optimization charging of the operator, and reducing operation cost.

Fig. 20 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a ue in the present invention. As shown in fig. 20, the present embodiment includes an information sending module 201 and an access network reselection module 202.

The information sending module 201 is configured to send the information of the current access network of the ue to the network side.

The access network reselection module 202 is configured to receive access network reselection control information issued by a network side according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and execute a corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information.

Based on the technical solution of this embodiment, the information sending module 201 at least includes a request unit 2011 or a response unit 2012.

The requesting unit 2011 is configured to send an access network information request message to the network side, where the access network information request message includes current access network information of the user equipment.

The response unit 2012 is configured to send an access network information response message to the network side according to the received access network information request message, where the access network information response message includes the current access network information.

Based on the technical solution of this embodiment, the access network reselection module 202 includes a receiving unit 2021 and an executing unit 2022.

The receiving unit 2021 is configured to receive access network reselection control information issued according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and send the received access network reselection control information to the executing unit 2022.

The executing unit 2022 is configured to, when the access network reselection control information includes an access network reselection identifier used to instruct the user equipment to perform a corresponding access network reselection operation, perform the corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection identifier. The executing unit 2022 may include at least a handover subunit, where the handover subunit is configured to, when the access network reselection control information includes the destination access network information, handover to a destination access network corresponding to the destination access network information.

Access network reselection policy information as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art: all or part of the steps for implementing the method embodiments may be implemented by hardware related to program instructions, and the program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and when executed, the program performs the steps including the method embodiments; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic or optical disks.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: the drawings are merely schematic representations of preferred embodiments, and the blocks or flows shown in the drawings are not necessarily required to practice the present invention.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: modules in the devices in the embodiments may be distributed in the devices in the embodiments according to the description of the embodiments, or may be located in one or more devices different from the embodiments with corresponding changes. The modules of the above embodiments may be combined into one module, or further split into multiple sub-modules.

The above-mentioned serial numbers of the embodiments of the present invention are merely for description and do not represent the merits of the embodiments.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above examples are only intended to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, but not to limit it; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some technical features may be equivalently replaced; and such modifications or substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An access network reselection method, comprising:

an access network discovery and selection functional entity ANDSF acquires the current access network information of user equipment;

2. The method for reselecting an access network according to claim 1, wherein before the step of sending the access network reselection control information to the ue, the method further comprises:

and generating corresponding access network reselection control information of the user equipment according to the acquired current access network information of the user equipment, the stored access network reselection strategy information and the context of the user equipment.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the access network reselection control information includes an access network reselection identifier, which is used to instruct the user equipment to perform a corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information; and/or

The access network reselection control information comprises target access network information set according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and is used for indicating the user equipment to be switched into a target access network corresponding to the target access network information.

4. The method for reselecting an access network according to claim 1, wherein before the ANDSF receives an access network information request message or an access network type update message sent by an access network gateway, or before the ANDSF sends an access network type request message to an access network gateway, the method further comprises:

and the access network gateway receives the current access network information of the user equipment sent by the user equipment.

5. The method for reselecting an access network according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein after the ANDSF obtains the current access network information of the ue, the method further comprises:

and the ANDSF records the acquired current access network information of the user equipment in the context of the user equipment.

6. The method for reselecting an access network according to claim 5, wherein the issuing access network reselection control information to the user equipment comprises:

determining an access network needing to be adjusted;

selecting the current access network as the user equipment of the access network needing to be adjusted according to the recorded information of the current access network of the user equipment;

and issuing corresponding access network reselection control information to the selected user equipment.

7. An access network reselection method, comprising:

the ANDSF determines an access network needing to be adjusted;

8. The method for reselecting an access network according to claim 7, wherein before the step of sending the access network reselection control information to the ue, the method further comprises:

and generating corresponding access network reselection control information of the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment, the stored access network reselection strategy information and the context of the user equipment.

9. The method for reselecting an access network according to claim 8, wherein the access network reselection control information includes an access network reselection identifier for instructing the user equipment to perform a corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information; and/or

10. The method for reselecting an access network according to claim 7, wherein before the ANDSF receives an access network information response message sent by an access network gateway, the method further comprises:

the access network gateway measures or counts the current access network as the user equipment of the access network needing to be adjusted according to the access network information request message, and sends the access network information response message according to the network measurement or statistical result; or,

and the access network gateway sends the access network information response message according to the stored current access network information of the user equipment.

11. An access network reselection method, comprising:

12. The access network reselection method of claim 11 wherein said access network reselection control information comprises an access network reselection identification; the executing the corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information includes: executing corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection identifier; and/or

The access network reselection control information comprises destination access network information; the executing the corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information includes: and switching to the destination access network corresponding to the destination access network information.

13. An access network discovery and selection function entity, comprising:

14. The access network discovery and selection function of claim 13, wherein said processing module comprises:

the storage unit is used for storing the access network reselection strategy information and the context of the user equipment;

a generating unit, configured to generate, according to the current access network information of the user equipment acquired by the acquiring module, the access network reselection policy information and the context of the user equipment, where the access network reselection policy information is stored in the storage unit, corresponding access network reselection control information of the user equipment, where the access network reselection control information includes an access network reselection identifier and/or destination access network information used to instruct the user equipment to perform a corresponding access network reselection operation;

and the sending unit is used for sending the generated access network reselection control information to corresponding user equipment.

15. The entity according to claim 14, wherein the storage unit is further configured to record the current access network information of the ue obtained by the obtaining module into the context of the corresponding ue.

16. The access network discovery and selection function of claim 15, wherein said processing module further comprises:

an adjustment network determining unit, configured to determine an access network that needs to be adjusted;

and the selecting unit is used for selecting the user equipment of which the current access network is the access network needing to be adjusted from the storage unit and sending the selected user equipment information to the generating unit.

17. An access network discovery and selection function entity, comprising:

the user equipment information acquisition module comprises:

18. The access network discovery and selection function of claim 17, wherein said processing module comprises:

a generating unit, configured to generate corresponding access network reselection control information of the user equipment according to the current access network information of the user equipment, the stored access network reselection policy information, and the context of the user equipment;

19. A user device, comprising:

the information sending module is used for sending the current access network information of the user equipment to an access network discovery and selection functional entity ANDSF;

the access network reselection module is used for receiving access network reselection control information issued by the ANDSF according to the current access network information of the user equipment, and executing corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection control information;

the information sending module at least comprises one of the following units:

a request unit, configured to send an access network information request message to an ANDSF, where the access network information request message includes the current access network information;

and the response unit is used for sending an access network information response message to the ANDSF according to the received access network information request message, wherein the access network information response message comprises the current access network information.

20. The user equipment of claim 19, wherein the access network reselection module comprises:

a receiving unit, configured to receive access network reselection control information issued according to the current access network information;

and an executing unit, configured to execute, when the access network reselection control information includes an access network reselection identifier used to instruct the user equipment to execute a corresponding access network reselection operation, the corresponding access network reselection operation according to the access network reselection identifier.

21. The UE of claim 20, wherein the performing unit comprises at least a handover subunit, configured to, when the ACC reselection control information includes destination ACC information, handover to a destination ACC corresponding to the destination ACC information.